Estradiol (medication)
Estradiol is available in a variety of different formulations, including oral, intranasal, transdermal/topical, vaginal, injectable, and implantable preparations. An ester may be attached to one or both of the hydroxyl groups of estradiol to improve its oral bioavailability and/or duration of action with injection. Such modifications give rise to forms such as estradiol acetate (oral and vaginal), estradiol valerate (oral and injectable), estradiol cypionate (injectable), estradiol benzoate (injectable), estradiol undecylate (injectable), and polyestradiol phosphate (injectable; a polymerized ester of estradiol), which are all prodrugs of estradiol.
Estradiol cyclooctyl acetate
Estradiol cyclooctyl acetate (ECoA), or estradiol 17β-cyclooctylacetate, also known as estra-1,3,5(10)-triene-3,17β-diol 17β-cyclooctylacetate, is a synthetic, steroidal estrogen and an estrogen ester – specifically, the 17β-cyclooctylacetate ester of estradiol – which has been studied for use in hormone replacement therapy for ovariectomized women and as a hormonal contraceptive in combination with a progestin but was never marketed. It has greater oral bioavailability than does micronized estradiol due to absorption via the lymphatic system and hence partial bypassing of first-pass metabolism. It is approximately twice as potent as micronized estradiol orally and has a comparatively reduced impact on liver parameters such as changes in sex hormone-binding globulin production.