thus , in one aspect , the present invention provides a method of inhibiting steroid sulphatase activity in a subject in need of same , the method comprising administering to said subject a steroid sulphatase inhibiting amount of a ring system compound ; which ring system compound comprises a ring to which is attached a sulphamate group of the formula wherein each of r 1 and r 2 is independently selected from h , alky , alkenyl , cycloalkyl and aryl , or together represent alkylene optionally containing one or more hetero atoms or groups in the alkylene chain ; and wherein said compound is an inhibitor of an enzyme having steroid sulphatase activity ( e . c . 3 . 1 . 6 . 2 ); and if the sulphamate group of said compound is replaced with a sulphate group to form a sulphate compound and incubated with a steroid sulphatase enzyme ( e . c . 3 . 1 . 6 . 2 ) at a ph 7 . 4 and 37 ° c . it would provide a k m value of less than 50 μm . in one aspect the present invention provides , as novel compounds , the sulphamic acid esters of polycyclic alcohols , being polycyclic alcohols the sulphate of which is a substrate for enzymes having steroid sulphatase activity in accordance with the definition already provided , and their n - alkyl , n - cycloalkyl , n - alkenyl and n - aryl derivatives . these compounds are of formula i hereinbefore given . preferably the polycyclic group will contain , inclusive of all substituents , a maximum of about 40 carbon atoms , more usually no more than about 30 . preferred polycycles are those containing a steroidal ring structure , that is to say a cyclopentanophenanthrene skeleton . preferably , the sulphamyl or substituted sulphamyl group is attached to that skeleton in the 3 - position , that is to say are compounds of the formula ii : where r 1 and r 2 are as above defined and the ring system abcd represents a substituted or unsubstituted , saturated or unsaturated steroid nucleus , preferably oestrone or dehydroepiandrosterone . in general terms the steroid ring system abcd may contain a variety of non - interfering substituents . in particular , the ring system abcd may contain one or more hydroxy , alkyl especially lower ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkyl , e . g . methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , sec - butyl , tert - butyl , n - pentyl and other pentyl isomers , and n - hexyl and other hexyl isomers , alkoxy especially lower ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkoxy , e . g . methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy etc ., alkinyl , e . g . ethinyl , or halogen , e . g . fluoro substituents . diethylstilboestrol , stilboestrol and other ring systems providing sulfates having k m values of less than 50 , μmoles with steroid sulphatase ec3 . 1 . 6 . 2 . examples of some non - steroidal ring systems are presented in the examples section . when substituted , the n - substituted compounds of this invention may contain one or two n - alkyl , n - alkenyl , n - cycloalkyl or n - aryl substituents , preferably containing or each containing a maximum of 10 carbon atoms . when r 1 and / or r 2 is allyl , the preferred values are those where r 1 and r 2 are each independently selected from lower alkyl groups containing from 1 to 5 carbon atoms , that is to say methyl , ethyl , propyl etc . preferably r 1 and r 2 are both methyl . when r 1 and / or r 2 is aryl , typical values are phenyl and tolyl (— phch 3 ; o -, m - or p -). where r 1 and r 2 represent cycloalkyl , typical values are cyclopropyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl etc . when joined together r 1 and r 2 typically represent an alkylene group providing a chain of 4 to 6 carbon atoms , optionally interrupted by one or more hetero atoms or groups , e . g . — o — or — nh — to provide a 5 -, 6 - or 7 )- membered heterocycle , e . g . morpholino pyrrolidino or piperidino . within the values alkyl , cycloalkyl , alkenyl and aryl we include substituted groups containing as substituents therein one or more groups which do not interfere with the sulphatase inhibitory activity of the compound in question . exemplary non - interfering substituents include hydroxy , amino , halo , alkoxy , alkyl and aryl . where r 1 and r 2 are h or c 1 - c 5 alkyl , i . e . oestrone - 3 - sulphamate and dehydroepiandrosterone - 3 - sulphamate and their n -( c 1 - c 5 ) alkyl derivatives , especially the dimethyl derivatives , r 1 = r 2 = ch 3 . the sulphamic acid esters of this invention are prepared by reacting the polycyclic alcohol , e . g . oestrone or dehydroepiandrosterone , with a sulfamoyl chloride r 1 r 2 nso 2 cl , i . e . the reaction scheme i sodium hydride and a sulphamoyl chloride are added to a stirred solution of oestrone in anhydrous dimethyl formamide at 0 ° c . subsequently , the reaction is allowed to warm to room temperature whereupon stirring is continued for a further 24 hours . the reaction mixture is poured onto a cold saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate and the resulting aqueous phase is extracted with dichloromethane . the combined organic extracts are dried over anhydrous mgso 4 . filtration followed by solvent evaporation in vacuo and co - evaporation with toluene affords a crude residue which is further purified by flash chromatography . where necessary , functional groups in the polycyclic alcohol ( sterol ) may be protected in known manner and the protecting group or groups removed at the end of the reaction . for pharmaceutical administration , the steroid sulphatase inhibitors of this invention can be formulated in any suitable manner utilising conventional pharmaceutical formulating techniques and pharmaceutical carriers , exipients , diluents etc . and usually for parenteral administration . approximate effective dose rates are in the range 100 to 800 mg / day depending on the individual activities of the compounds in question and for a patient of average ( 70 kg ) bodyweight . more usual dosage rates for the preferred and more active compounds will be in the range 200 to 800 mg / day , more preferably , 200 to 500 mg / day , most preferably from 200 to 250 mg / day . they may be given in single dose regimes , split dose regimes and / or in multiple dose regimes lasting over several days . for oral administration they may be formulated in tablets , capsules , solution or suspension containing from 100 to 500 mg of compound per unit dose . alternatively and preferably the compounds will be formulated for parenteral administration in a suitable parenterally administrable carrier and providing single daily dosage rates in the range 200 to 800 mg , preferably 200 to 500 , more preferably 200 to 250 mg . such effective daily doses will , however , vary depending on inherent activity of the active ingredient and on the bodyweight of the patient , such variations being within the skill and judgement of the physician . for particular applications , it is envisaged that the steroid sulphatase inhibitors of this invention may be used in combination therapies , either with another sulphatase inhibitor , or , for example , in combination with an aromatase inhibitor , such as for example , 4 - hydroxyandrostenedione ( 4 - oha ). the invention is illustrated by the following preparative examples and test data : sodium hydride ( 60 % dispersion ; 2 eq ) and sulphamoyl chloride ( 2 eq ) were added to a stirred solution of oestrone ( 1 eq ) in anhydrous dimethyl formamide at 0 ° c . subsequently , the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature whereupon stirring was continued for a further 24 hours . the reaction mixture was poured onto a cold saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate and the resulting aqueous phase was extracted with dichloromethane . the combined organic extracts were dried over anhydrous mgso 4 . filtration followed solvent evaporation in vacuo and co - evaporation with toluene afforded a crude residue which is further purified by flash chromatography . δ 1 h ( 270 mhz ; cd 3 od ): 0 . 91 ( s , 3h , c 18 — me ), 1 . 40 - 2 . 55 ( series of m , 13h ), 2 . 90 - 2 . 92 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 04 ( br d , 2h , j = 10 . 44 hz ), 7 . 33 ( br d , 1h , j = 8 . 42 hz ). δ 13 c ( 67 . 8 mhz ; cd 3 od ): 14 . 53 ( q , c 18 — me ), 22 . 80 ( t ), 27 . 24 ( t ), 27 . 73 ( t ), 30 . 68 ( t ), 33 . 05 ( t ), 37 . 01 ( t ), 39 . 76 ( d ), 45 . 73 ( s , c 18 ), 51 . 86 ( d ), 120 . 76 ( d ), 123 . 54 ( d ), 123 . 54 ( d ), 127 . 89 ( d ), 139 . 83 ( s ), 150 . 27 ( s ), 223 . 87 ( s , c ═ o ). m / z (%): 349 ( 9 ) ( m + ), 270 ( 100 ), 213 ( 26 ), 185 ( 43 ), 172 ( 31 ), 159 ( 21 ), 146 ( 36 ), 91 ( 33 ), 69 ( 37 ), 57 ( 73 ), 43 ( 56 ), 29 ( 24 ). the procedure of example 1 was repeated save that sulphamoyl chloride was replaced by the same quantity of n - methylsulphamoyl chloride . δ 1 h ( 270 mhz ; cdcl 3 ): 0 . 91 ( s , 3h , c 18 — me ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 68 ( m , 6h ), 1 . 93 - 2 . 60 ( series of m , 7h ), 2 . 90 - 2 . 95 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 94 ( d , 3h , j = 5 . 13 hz , me n —), 4 . 68 - 4 . 71 ( br m , exchangeable , 1h , — nh ), 7 . 02 - 7 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 26 - 7 . 32 ( m , 1h ). the procedure of example 1 was repeated save that sulphamoyl chloride was replaced by the same quantity of n , n - dimethylsulphamoyl chloride . δ 1 h ( 270 mhz ; cdcl 3 ): 0 . 92 ( s , 3h , c 18 — me ), 1 . 39 - 1 . 75 ( m , 5h ), 1 . 95 - 2 . 60 ( series of m , 6h ), 2 . 82 ( s , 3h , me n —), 2 . 96 - 3 . 00 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h , me n —), 7 . 04 ( br d , 2h , j = 7 . 69 hz ), 7 . 29 ( br d , 1h , j = 7 . 88 hz ). steroid sulphatase activity was measured in vitro using intact mcf - 7 human breast cancer cells . this hormone dependent cell line is widely used to study the control of human breast cancer cell growth . it possesses significant steroid sulphatase activity ( macindoe et al . endocrinology , 123 , 1281 - 1287 ( 1988 ); purohit & amp ; reed , int . j . cancer , 50 , 901 - 905 ( 1992 )) and is available in the u . s . a . from the american type culture collection ( atcc ) and in the u . k . ( e . g . from the imperial cancer research fund ). cells were maintained in minimal essential medium ( mem ) ( flow laboratories , irvine , scotland ) containing 20 mm hepes , 5 % foetal bovine serum , 2 mm glutamine , non - essential amino acids and 0 . 075 % sodium bicarbonate . up to 30 replicate 25 cm 2 tissue culture flasks were seeded with approximately 1 × 10 5 cells / flask using the above medium . cells were grown to 80 % confluency and medium was changed every third day . intact monolayers of mcf - 7 cells in triplicate 25 cm 2 tissue culture flasks were washed with earle &# 39 ; s balanced salt solution ( ebss from icn flow , high wycombe , u . k .) and incubated for 3 - 4 hours at 37 ° c . with 5 pmol ( 7 × 10 5 dpm ) [ 6 , 7 - 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate ( specific activity 60 ci / mmol from new england nuclear , boston , mass ., u . s . a .) in serum - free mem ( 2 . 5 ml ) together with oestrone - 3 - sulphamate ( 11 concentrations : 0 ; lfm ; 0 . 01 pm ; 0 . 1 pm ; 1 pm ; 0 . 01 nm ; 0 . 1 nm ; 1 nm ; 0 . 01 μm ; 0 . 01 μm ; 1 μm ). after incubation each flask was cooled and the medium ( 1 ml ) was pipetted into separate tubes containing [ 14 c ] oestrone ( 7 × 103 dpm ) ( specific activity 97 ci / mmol from amersham international radiochemical centre , amersham , u . k .). the mixture was shaken thoroughly for 30 seconds with toluene ( 5 ml ). experiments showed that & gt ; 90 % [ 14 c ] oestrone and & lt ; 0 . 1 % [ 3 i ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate was removed from the aqueous phase by this treatment . a portion ( 2 ml ) of the organic phase was removed , evaporated and the 3 h and 14 c content of the residue determined by scintillation spectrometry . the mass of oestrone - 3 - sulphate hydrolysed was calculated from the 3h counts obtained ( corrected for the volumes of the medium and organic phase used , and for recovery of [ 14 c ] oestrone added ) and the specific activity of the substrate . each batch of experiments included incubations of microsomes prepared from a sulphatase - positive human placenta ( positive control ) and flasks without cells ( to assess apparent non - enzymatic hydrolysis of the substrate ). the number of cell nuclei per flask was determined using a coulter counter after treating the cell monolayers with zaponin . one flask in each batch was used to assess cell membrane status and viability using the trypan blue exclusion method ( phillips , h . j . ( 1973 ) in : tissue culture and applications , [ eds : kruse , d . f . & amp ; patterson , m . k . ]; pp . 406 - 408 ; academic press , new york ). data for oestrone - 3 - sulphamate are shown in table i and fig2 and 4 . results for steroid sulphatase activity are expressed as the mean ± 1 s . d . of the total product ( oestrone + oestradiol ) formed during the incubation period ( 20 hours ) calculated for 10 6 cells and , for values showing statistical significance , as a percentage reduction ( inhibition ) over incubations containing no oestrone - 3 - sulphamate . unpaired student &# 39 ; s t - test was used to test the statistical significance of results . oestrone - 3 - sulphamate ( or emate ) is a potent oestrone sulphatase ( or el - sts ) inhibitor as it displays more than 99 % inhibition of el - sts activity in intact mcf - 7 cells . emate also inhibits el - sts in a time - and concentration - dependent manner indicating that it acts as an active site - directed inactivator . although emate inhibits el - sts , it is possible that oestrone may be released during sulphatase inhibition , and the emate and its oestradiol congener may possess oestrogenic activity , thus , there can be oestrone sulphatase inhibitors that possess oestrogenic activity . an identical experimental protocol to that described in example 4 was used to generate results for oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate except that incubations contained oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate ( 5 concentrations : 0 ; 0 . 001 μm ; 0 . 01 μm ; 0 . 1 μm ; 1 , μm in place of oestrone - 3 - sulphamate . results for oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate are shown in table ii and fig3 and are expressed in an identical manner to table i and fig2 respectively . additionally the log dose - response curve is compared with oestrone - 3 - sulphamate in fig4 . inhibition of steroid sulphatase activity in mcf - 7 cells by pre - treatment with oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate and oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate a similar experimental protocol to that described in example 4 was used to determine the is effect of pre - treating mcf - 7 cells with oestrone - 3 - sulphamate and oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate respectively . intact monolayers were initially incubated for 2 hours at 37 ° c . with 0 . 1 μm oestrone - 3 - sulphamate , oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate or medium alone ( control ). the medium bathing the cells was then removed by aspiration and cells were washed 3 times successively with 5 ml of medium on each occasion . the resultant ‘ washed ’ cells were then re - suspended and incubated for 34 hours at 37 ° c . in medium containing 5 pmol ( 7 × 10 5 dpm ) [ 6 , 7 - 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate . all other aspects were identical to those described in examples 3 and 4 . results for oestrone - 3 - sulphamate and oestrone - 3 - n , n - dimethylsulphamate are shown in table iii and are expressed in a similar manner to table i . sulphatase - positive human placenta from normal term pregnancies ( obstetric ward , st . mary &# 39 ; s hospital , london ) were thoroughly minced with scissors and washed once with cold phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 4 , 50 mm ) then re - suspended in cold phosphate buffer ( 5 ml / g tissue ). homogenisation was accomplished with an ultra - turrax homogeniser , using three 10 second bursts separated by 2 minute cooling periods in ice . nuclei and cell debris were removed by centrifuging ( 4 ° c .) at 2000 g for 30 minutes and portions ( 2 ml ) of the supernatant were stored at − 20 ° c . the protein concentration of the supernatants was determined by the method of bradford ( anal . biochem ., 72 , 248 - 254 ( 1976 )). incubations ( 1 ml ) were carried out using a protein concentration of 100 μg / ml , substrate concentration of 20 μm [ 6 , 7 - 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate ( specific activity 60 ci / mmol from new england nuclear , boston , mass ., u . s . a .) and an incubation time of 20 minutes at 37 ° c . eight concentrations of oestrone - 3 - sulphamate were employed : 0 ( i . e . control ); 0 . 05 μm ; 0 . 1 μm ; 0 . 2 μm ; 0 . 4 μm ; 0 . 6 μm ; 0 . 8 μm ; 1 . 0 μm . after incubation each sample was cooled and the medium ( 1 ml ) was pipetted into separate tubes containing [ 14 c ] oestrone ( 7 × 10 3 dpm ) ( specific activity 97 ci / mmol from amersham international radiochemical centre , amersham , u . k .). the mixture was shaken thoroughly for 30 is seconds with toluene ( 5 ml ). experiments showed that & gt ; 90 % [ 14 c ] oestrone and & lt ; 0 . 1 % [ 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate was removed from the aqueous phase by this treatment . a portion ( 2 ml ) of the organic phase was removed , evaporated and the 3 h and 14 c content of the residue determined by scintillation spectrometry . the mass of oestrone - 3 - sulphate hydrolysed was calculated from the 3 h counts obtained ( corrected for the volumes of the medium and organic phase used , and for recovery of [ 14 c ] oestrone added ) and the specific activity of the substrate . results for oestrone - 3 - sulphamate are shown in table iv and fig5 . results for steroid sulphatase activity are expressed in table iv as total product ( oestrone + oestradiol ) formed during the incubation period ( time ) and as a percentage reduction ( inhibition ) over incubations containing no oestrone - 3 - sulphamate which acted as control . results for steroid sulphatase activity are expressed in fig4 as percentage reduction ( inhibition ) over control against concentration of oestrone - 3 - sulphamate and include the calculated ic 50 value ( i . e . the concentration of oestrone - 3 - sulphamate which produces 50 % inhibition in relation to control ) of 0 . 07 μm . inhibition of steroid sulphatase activity in liver microsome preparations from rats treated with subcutaneous oestrone - 3 - sulphamate four groups of 3 female wistar rats ( weight range 80 - 110 g ) were given 100 ml subcutaneous injections ( once daily for 7 days , vehicle : propylene glycol ) of either : on the eighth day all rats were sacrificed and livers were removed by dissection . liver microsomal preparations were prepared by an identical protocol to that described in example 6 except that the tissue source was rat liver and that duplicate experiments to determine steroid sulphatase activity were performed using [ 6 , 7 - 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate and [ 7 - 3 h ] dehydroepiandrosterone - 3 - sulphate as separate substrates . results for steroid sulphatase activity are shown in table v and are expressed as total product formed during the incubation period in the form of mean ± 1 s . d . results for incubations of tissue obtained from groups of rats treated with oestrone - 3 - sulphamate are also expressed as a percentage reduction ( inhibition ) in steroid sulphatase activity compared to their respective controls . starting with the appropriate parent compound , the ring system sulphamates according to the present invention were prepared essentially as follows . in this regard , a solution of the appropriate parent compound in anhydrous dmf was treated with sodium hydride [ 60 % dispersion ; 1 . 2 equiv .] at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen had ceased , sulfamoyl chloride in toluene [ excess , ca . 5 equiv .] was added and the reaction mixture was poured into brine after warming to room temperature overnight and diluting with ethyl acetate . the organic fraction was washed exhaustively with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated . the crude product obtained was purified by flash chromatography and recrystallisation to give the corresponding sulfamate . all the compounds were fully characterized by spectroscopic and combustion analysis . 4 - n - heptyloxyphenol ( 1 . 0 g , 4 . 80 mmol ) gave a crude product ( 1 . 41 g ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with chloroform / acetone ( 8 : 1 ), and upon evaporation the second fraction gave a pale white residue ( 757 mg ) which was recrystallized from acetone / hexane ( 1 : 5 ) to give 9a as white crystals ( 0 . 557 g ). r f s = 0 . 56 , 0 . 69 and 0 . 8 for chloroform / acetone 8 : 1 , 4 : 1 and 2 : 1 respectively νmax ( kbr ) 3440 , 3320 (— nh2 ), 1370 (— so 2 n —) cm − 1 δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) ( 270 mhz ) 0 . 89 ( 3h , t , c — 4 - c h 3 ), 1 . 34 ( 8h , m , —( c h 2 ) 4 ch 3 ), 1 . 79 ( 2h , pentent , — c h 2 ( ch 2 ) 4 ch 3 ), 4 . 0 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 4 hz , — oc h 2 —), 6 . 95 ( 2h , dd , j c - 3 - h and c - 5 - h = 2 . 2 hz and j c - 3 - h and c - 2 - h = 6 . 97 hz , c - 3 - h and c - 5 - h ), 7 . 01 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 23 ( 2h , dd , j c - 2 - h and c - 6 - h = 2 . 4 hz and j c - 2 - h and c - 6 - h = 6 . 97 hz , c - 2 - h and c - 6 - h ) ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 287 . 1 [ 100 , ( m ) + ], 208 . 2 [ 30 , ( m - so 2 nh 2 ) + ] ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 286 . 0 [ 100 , ( m − h )], 96 . 0 ( 10 ) and 77 . 9 ( 20 ). acc . ms : m / z ( fab ) + 288 . 1246 c 13 h 22 no 4 s requires 288 . 1269 . found c , 54 . 2 ; h , 7 . 35 ; n , 4 . 7 ; c 13 h 2 lno 4 s requires c , 54 . 33 ; h , 7 . 37 ; n , 4 . 87 %. % inhibition in vivo from a single dose of 10 mg / kg = 22 ± 3 e - capsaicin (( e )- n -( 4 - hydroxy - 3 - methoxyphenyl )- methyl - γ - methyl - 6 - nonenamide ) ( 100 mg , 0 . 3274 mmol ) gave a beige crude product ( 130 mg ) which was fractionated on silica ( 100 g ) with chloroform / acetone ( 2 : 1 ), and upon evaporation the second fraction gave a pale white residue ( 85 mg ) which was recrystallized from acetone / hexane ( 1 : 2 ) to give 9b as pale white crystals ( 63 mg , 50 %). r f s = 0 . 4 and 0 . 15 for chloroform / acetone 2 : 1 and 4 : 1 respectively νmax ( kbr ) 3490 , 3300 (— nh 2 ), 1650 ( co ), 1380 (— so 2 n —) cm − 1 δ h ( cdcl 3 ) ( 270 mhz ) 0 . 94 ( 6h , d , j = 6 . 6 hz , 2 ×- c h 3 ), 1 . 4 ( 2h , pentet , — coch 2 c h 2 — or — c h 2 ch 2 ch ═ ch —), 1 . 62 ( 2h , pentet , — c h 2 ch 2 ch ═ ch — or — coch 2 c h 2 —), 2 . 0 ( 2h , q , — c h 2 ch ═ ch —), 2 . 2 ( 3h , t , — c h 2 conh — and — c h ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 3 . 87 ( 3h , s , c - 3 - oc h 3 ), 4 . 39 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 86 hz , arc h 2 nhco ), 5 . 14 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 5 . 34 ( 2h , m , — c h ═ c h —), 5 . 87 ( 1h , t , — n h co —), 6 . 84 ( 1h , dd , j = c - 6 - h and c - 2 - h 1 . 92 hz and j = c - 6 - h and c - 5 - h 8 . 15 hz c - 6 - h ), 6 . 86 ( 1h , d , j = c - 1 - h and c - 6 - h 1 . 83 hz , c - 1 - h ) and 7 . 26 ( 1h , d , j = c - 5 - h and c - 6 - h 8 . 08 hz , c - 5 - h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 385 . 2 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 304 . 2 ( 20 ), 287 . 1 ( 10 ) ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 383 . 1 [ 100 , ( m − h )], 302 . 2 ( 10 ), 95 . 9 ( 10 ) and 77 . 9 ( 35 ) found c , 56 . 2 ; h , 7 . 38 ; n , 7 . 29 ; c 18 h 28 n 2 o 5 s requires c , 56 . 23 ; h , 7 . 34 ; n , 7 . 29 %. % inhibition in vivo from a single dose of 10 mg / kg = 22 ± 3 a stirred solution of 2 - nitrophenol ( 1 . 391 g , 10 . 0 mmol ) in anhydrous dmf ( 20 ml ) was treated with sodium hydride ( 60 % dispersion , 400 mg , 10 . 0 mmol ) at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen had ceased , sulfamoyl chloride ( 2 eq .) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight and then poured into water ( 150 ml ). the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 150 is ml ) and the organic portion separated was washed with brine ( 5 × 100 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated in vacuo at 40 ° c . purification by flash chromatography ( ethyl acetate / hexane , 1 : 1 ) gave the crude 2 - nitrophenol - o - sulfamate which was further purified by recrystallization from hot chloroform to afford the title compound as white crystals ( 333 mg , 745 . 8 μmol ). the residue recovered , from the evaporation of the mother liquor , was recrystallized from chloroform / hexane to give further crops of the title compound ( a total of 252 mg , 564 . 4 μmol , 26 % overall ). 1 h nmr ( 270 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ5 . 29 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , oso 2 nh 2 ), 7 . 48 ( 1h , m , c4 - h or c5 - h ), 7 . 66 ( 1h , dd , j = 1 . 5 and 8 . 3 hz , c3 - h or c6 - h ), 7 . 71 ( 1h , m , c4 - h or c5 - h ) and 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j = 1 . 5 and 8 . 3 hz , c3 - h or c6 - h ) ms ( ei , 70 ev ) m / z ( rel . intensity ) 218 ( 2 , m + ), 139 [ 100 , ( m − so 2 nh ) + ]; ms ( ci , isobutane ) m / z ( rel . intensity ) 219 [ 27 , ( m + h ) + ], 202 [ 10 , ( m + h − nh 3 ) + ], 140 [ 100 , ( m + h − so 2 nh ) + ], 122 [ 15 , ( m − oso 2 nh 2 ) + ]. anal . ( c 6 h 6 n 2 o 5 s ) c , h , n . % inhibition in vivo from a single dose of 10 mg / kg = 22 ± 3 starting with the appropriate phenolic parent compound ( if there are two phenol groups , it may be necessary to protect one of them using standard protection techniques for at least a part of the reaction ), the ring system sulphamates according to the present invention are prepared essentially as follows . likewise , a solution of the appropriate parent compound in anhydrous dmf is treated with sodium hydride [ 60 % dispersion ; 1 . 2 equiv .] at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen has ceased , sulfamoyl chloride in toluene [ excess , ca . 5 equiv .] is added and the reaction mixture is poured into brine after warming to room temperature overnight and diluting with ethyl acetate . the organic fraction is washed exhaustively with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated . the crude product obtained is purified by flash chromatography and recrystallisation to give the corresponding sulfamate . all the compounds are fully characterized by spectroscopic and combustion analysis . the following compounds of the present invention are made and are found to be steroid sulphatase inhibitors in accordance with the present invention . wherein p 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . starting with the appropriate phenolic parent compound ( if there are two phenol groups , it may be necessary to protect one of them using standard protection techniques for at least a part of the reaction ), the ring system sulphamates according to the present invention are prepared essentially as follows . here , a solution of the appropriate parent compound in anhydrous dmf is treated with sodium hydride [ 60 % dispersion ; 1 . 2 equiv .] at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen has ceased , n - methyl sulfamoyl chloride in toluene [ excess , ca . 5 equiv .] is added and the reaction mixture is poured into brine after warning to room temperature overnight and diluting with ethyl acetate . the organic fraction is washed exhaustively with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated . the crude product obtained is purified by flash chromatography and recrystallisation to give the corresponding sulfamate . all the compounds are fully characterized by spectroscopic and combustion analysis . the following compounds of the present invention are made and are found to be steroid sulphatase inhibitors in accordance with the present invention . ( in the following formulae , the methyl and h groups on the sulphamate group can be interchanged .) wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . starting with the appropriate phenolic parent compound ( if there are two phenol groups , it may be necessary to protect one of them using standard protection techniques for at least a part of the reaction ), the ring system sulphamates according to the present invention are prepared essentially as follows . here , a solution of the appropriate parent compound in anhydrous dmf is treated with sodium hydride [ 60 % dispersion ; 1 . 2 equiv .] at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen has ceased , n , n - dimethyl sulfamoyl chloride in toluene [ excess , ca . 5 equiv .] is added and the reaction mixture is poured into brine after warming to room temperature overnight and diluting with ethyl acetate . the organic fraction is washed exhaustively with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated . the crude product obtained is purified by flash chromatography and recrystallisation to give the corresponding sulfamate . all the compounds are fully characterized by spectroscopic and combustion analysis . the following compounds of the present invention are made and are found to be steroid sulphatase inhibitors in accordance with the present invention . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . wherein r 3 is h or a suitable side chain — such as c 1 - 6 alkyl . the compounds of the present invention may be prepared by a process that comprises a packman synthesis step . packman synthesis is known in the art . the general procedure for the sulphamoylation of coumarins was as follows . a solution of an appropriate coumarin in anhydrous dmf ( ca . 40 ml per g of coumarin ) was treated with sodium hydride [ 60 % dispersion ; 1 equiv ] at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen had ceased , sulphamoyl chloride in toluene [ ca . 0 . 68 m , 1 . 5 equiv ] was added and the reaction mixture was poured into water after warming to room temperature overnight and then the crude product was then quenched . the organic fraction in ethyl acetate ( 150 ml ) was washed exhaustively with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated . the crude product obtained was purified by flash chromatography followed by recrystallisation to give the corresponding sulphamate . all new compounds were fully characterised by spectroscopic and combustion analysis . the synthesis of 4 methylcoumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 14 ) is shown in fig9 . following this general procedure , compounds 13 - 16 ( as shown in fig7 )— i . e . coumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 13 ), 4 - methylcoumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 14 ), 3 , 4 , 8 - trimethylcoumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 15 ) and 4 -( trifluoromethylcoumarin )- 7 - o - sulphamate ( 16 )— were prepared . more details on the synthesis of these compounds now follow . the synthesis of compound 12 ( as shown in fig7 ) is also discussed below . following the above - mentioned general procedure , 7 - hydroxycoumarin ( 500 mg , 3 . 082 mmol ) gave a crude product ( 605 mg ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) by gradient elution with chloroform / acetone ( 8 : 1 , 500 ml ; 4 : 1 , 1000 ml and then 2 : 1 , 500 ml ). upon evaporation , the second fraction gave a creamy yellow residue ( 389 mg , 52 . 3 %) which was recrystallised in ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give ( 13 ) as dull white crystals ( 239 mg ). m . p . 170 . 0 - 171 . 5 ° c . ; r f s = 0 . 48 ( ether ), 0 . 67 ( ethyl acetate ), 0 . 19 ( chloroform / acetone , 4 : 1 ); νmax ( kbr ) 3360 , 3210 , 3060 , 1720 , 1615 , 1370 , 1125 cm − 1 ; δ h ( dmso - d 6 / cdcl 3 , ca . 1 : 25 ) 6 . 415 ( 1h , d , j c - 4 - h , c - 3 - h = 9 . 7 hz , c - 3 - h ), 7 . 285 ( 1h , dd , j c - 8 - h , c - 6 - h = 2 . 3 hz and j c - 5 - h , c - 6 - h = 8 . 5 hz , c - 6 - h ), 7 . 379 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 8 - h = 2 . 2 hz , c - 8 - h ), 7 . 508 ( 2h , br s , d 2 o exchanged , — n h 2 ), 7 . 543 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 5 - h = 8 . 4 hz , c - 5 - h ) and 7 . 760 ( 1h , d , j c - 3 - h , c - 4 - h = 9 . 7 hz , c - 4 - h ). ms : m / z ( e . i ., rel . intensity ) 241 . 0 ( 10 ), 162 . 0 ( 97 ), 134 . 0 ( 100 ), 105 . 0 ( 23 ). acc . ms : m / z 241 . 0068 , c 9 h 7 no 5 s requires 241 . 0045 . found : c , 44 . 8 ; h , 2 . 89 ; n , 5 . 82 . c 9 h 7 no 5 s requires c , 44 . 81 , h , 2 . 92 ; n , 5 . 81 %. following the above - mentioned general procedure , 7 - hydroxy - 4 - methylcoumarin ( 500 mg , 2 . 753 mmol ) gave a crude product ( 633 mg ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) by gradient elution with chloroform / acetone ( 8 : 1 , 500 ml ; 4 : 1 , 1000 ml , 2 : 1 , 500 ml and then 1 : 1 , 500 ml ). upon evaporation , the second fraction gave a creamy yellow residue ( 425 mg , 60 . 5 %) which was recrystallised in acetone / chloroform ( 3 : 5 ) to give ( 14 ) as colorless rhombic crystals ( 281 mg ). m . p . 165 - 167 ° c . ; r f s = 0 . 48 ( ether ), 0 . 29 ( ether / hexane 8 : 1 ), 0 . 26 ( chloroform / acetone , 4 : 1 ); νmax ( kbr ) 3320 , 3180 , 3080 , 1700 , 1620 , 1560 , 1380 , 1125 cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 2 . 507 ( 3h , s , — c h 3 ), 6 . 339 ( 1h , s , c - 3 - h ), 7 . 299 ( 2h , m , c - 6 - h and c - 8 - h ), 7 . 390 ( 2h , br s , d 2 o exchanged , — n h 2 ) and 7 . 850 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 5 - h = 9 hz c - 5 - h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 542 . 2 ( 15 ), 511 . 1 [ 45 , ( 2m + h ) + ], 461 . 2 ( 20 ), 409 . 1 [ 60 , ( m + h + nba ) + ], 393 . 3 [ 60 , ( m + h + nba − 16 ) + ], 329 . 2 [ 10 ,( m + h + nba − 80 ) + ], 256 . 1 [ 100 ,( m + h ) + ]. ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 421 . 0 ( 20 ), 407 . 1 [ 15 , ( m − h + nba ) − ], 335 . 1 ( 14 ), 254 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 175 . 1 [ 32 , ( m − h − 79 ) − ], 121 . 0 ( 17 ). found c , 47 . 2 ; h , 3 . 56 ; n , 5 . 51 . c 10 h 9 no 5 s requires c , 47 . 06 ; h , 3 . 55 ; n , 5 . 49 %. following the above - mentioned general procedure , 7 - hydroxy - 3 , 4 , 8 - trimethylcoumarin ( 1 . 0 g , 4 . 896 mmol ) gave a crude product ( 1 . 33 g ) which upon recrystallisation in hot ethyl acetate yielded 238 mg of starting coumarin . the mother liquor was evaporated and the white residue obtained ( 1 . 13 g ) was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with ether . the second fraction was collected , evaporated and the residue obtained ( 519 mg , 37 . 4 %) was recrystallised in acetonelhexane ( 1 : 2 ) to give ( 15 ) as pale yellow crystals ( 312 mg ). m . p . 197 - 202 ° c . ; r f s = 0 . 50 ( ether ), 0 . 69 ( ethyl acetate ); νmax ( kbr ) 3310 , 3040 , 1680 , 1600 cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 2 . 176 , 2 . 383 and 2 . 458 ( 9h , three s , 3 × c h 3 ), 7 . 374 ( 1h , d , j c - 5 - h , c - 6 - h = 8 . 8 hz , c - 6 - h ), 7 . 390 ( 2h , br s , d 2 o exchanged , — n h 2 ) and 7 . 682 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 5 - h = 8 . 8 hz , c - 5 - h ). ms : m / z ( e . i ., rel . intensity ) 283 . 1 ( 10 ), 204 . 1 ( 45 ), 176 . 1 ( 40 ), 161 . 1 ( 22 ), 69 . 1 ( 56 ), 57 . 1 ( 40 ), 43 . 1 ( 100 ). acc . ms : m / z 283 . 0497 , c 12 h 13 no 5 s requires 283 . 0514 . found : c , 50 . 86 ; h , 4 . 63 ; n , 4 . 97 . c 12 h 13 no 5 s requires c , 50 . 88 ; h , 4 . 63 ; n , 4 . 94 %. following the above - mentioned general procedure , 7 - hydroxy - 4 -( trifluoromethyl )- coumarin ( 0 . 90 g , 3 . 911 mmol ) gave a crude product ( 1 . 20 g ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with ether / chloroform ( 1 : 4 ). the residue ( 392 mg ) from the third fraction was further purified by fractionating on silica ( 100 g ) with ether . the first fraction then collected gave a residue ( 295 mg , 24 . 4 %) which upon recrystallised in ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 3 ) gave ( 16 ) as white needle - shaped crystals ( 160 mg ). m . p . 165 - 168 ° c . ; r f s = 0 . 67 ( ether ), 0 . 24 ( ether / chloroform , 1 : 4 ); νmax ( kbr ) 3360 , 3240 , 3100 , 1720 , 1620 , 1380 , 1160 cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 6 . 995 ( 1h , s , c - 3 - h ), 7 . 461 ( 1h , dd , j c - 8 - h , c - 6 - h = 2 . 8 hz and j c - 5 - h , c - 6 - h = 8 . 1 hz , c - 6 - h ), 7 . 478 ( 1h , s , c - 8 - h ), 7 . 53 ( 2h , br s , d 2 o exchanged , — n h 2 ) and 7 . 89 ( 1h , m , c - 5 - h ). 1 h - nmr spectrum of ( 16 ) in dmso - d 6 / cdcl 3 ( ca . 1 : 15 ) showed partial decomposition to the starting coumarin . ms : m / z ( e . i ., rel . intensity ) 309 . 0 ( 2 . 6 ), 230 . 0 ( 77 ), 202 . 0 ( 100 ), 183 . 5 ( 5 ), 173 . 0 ( 10 ), 69 . 0 ( 33 ). acc . ms : m / z 308 . 9874 , c 10 h 6 f 3 no 5 s requires 308 . 9919 . found : c , 38 . 8 ; h , 1 . 85 ; n , 4 . 53 . c 10 h 6 f 3 no 5 s requires c , 38 . 84 ; h , 1 . 96 ; n , 4 . 53 %. to a solution of 7 - hydroxy - 4 - methylcoumarin ( 1 . 0 g , 5 . 676 mmol ) in dried pyridine ( 20 ml ) under an atmosphere of n 2 [ fig8 ] was added sulphur trioxide - pyridine complex ( 1 . 8 g , 11 . 35 mmol , 2 equiv .) and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight . after removal of pyridine , methanol ( 20 ml ) was added to the creamy syrup obtained and the resulting light yellow solution was basified ( ph ˜ 8 ) by dropwise addition of sodium hydroxide in methanol ( 1 m , ca . 18 ml ). the bright yellow suspension formed was filtered and the precipitated washed with more methanol . the filtrate was then concentrated to 30 - 40 ml and ether ( total 120 ml ) was added in portions until precipitation completed . the light beige precipitate was collected ( 711 mg ) and 582 mg of which was recrystallised in methanol / ether ( 1 : 1 ) to give ( 12 ) as light creamy yellow crystals ( 335 mg ). m . p . 172 - 175 ° c . ( dec . ); r f s = 0 . 51 ( methanol / ethyl acetate , 1 : 3 ), 0 . 67 ( methanol / ether , 1 : 3 ); νmax ( kbr ) 3500 ( br ), 3080 , 1680 , 1610 , 1560 , 1300 , 1260 , 1050 cm − 1 ; δ h ( dmso - d 6 ) 2 . 407 ( 3h , s , — c h 3 ), 6 . 269 ( 1h , s , c - 3 - h ), 7 . 20 ( 2h , m , c - 6 - h and c - 8 - h ), and 7 . 695 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 5 - h = 8 . 8 hz , c - 5 - h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 176 ( 100 , nba + na + ). ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba . rel . intensity ) 175 . 1 ( 14 , m − na + — so 3 ), 255 . 0 ( 100 , m − na + ), 408 . 0 ( 8 , m − na + + nba ), 431 . 0 ( 15 , m + 153 ), 444 . 0 ( 20 ), 533 . 0 ( 15 ). 230 . 0 ( 77 ), 202 . 0 ( 100 ), 183 . 5 ( 5 ), 173 . 0 ( 10 ), 69 . 0 ( 33 ). acc . ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in glycerol , rel . intensity ) 254 . 9982 ( 25 ), c 10 h 7 o 6 s requires 254 . 9963 . found : c , 40 . 3 ; h , 2 . 92 . c 10 h 7 o 6 nas . h 2 o requires c , 40 . 55 ; h , 3 . 06 %. hplc [ spherisorb ods5 , 25 × 4 . 6 mm ; mobile phase : meoh / h 2 o ( 70 : 30 ), flow rate : 1 ml / min ; λ max : 316 nm ]: t r = 1 . 5 min , c . f . 7 - hydroxy - 4 - methylcoumarin , 3 . 6 min . compound 12 is stable in bases such as sodium hydroxide in methanol but not in acidic conditions . in addition , incomplete basification of the reaction mixture with sodium hydroxide in methanol (& lt ; 3 equivalents ) leads to decomposition of ( 12 ). two equivalents of sodium hydroxide are required for consuming excess sulphur trioxide - pyridine complex to yield the neutral sodium sulphate . insufficient amount of sodium hydroxide will therefore lead to the formation of sodium hydrogen sulphate which is acidic . compound 12 appears labile to high temperature as one experiment has shown complete decomposition to 7 - hydroxy - 4 - methylcoumarin after heating ( 12 ) as solid at 90 ° c . for 4 h . the above - mentioned coumarin sulphamates were tested for their ability to inhibit e1 - sts activity using intact mcf - 7 breast cancer cells or placental microsomes ( 100 , 000 g fraction ) essentially as previously described . to examine whether compound ( 12 ) could act as a substrate for e1 - sts , 100 μg of the compound was incubated for 1 hour with placental microsomes in the absence or presence of emate ( 10 μm ). the unconjugated coumarin formed at the end of the incubation was extracted with diethyl ether . after evaporation of solvent , the residue was examined by tlc using ethyl acetate / methanol ( 80 : 20 ) as eluent , in which the coumarin sulphate ( 12 ) and 7 - hydroxy - 4 - methylcoumarin had r f values of 0 . 79 and 0 . 95 respectively . only unconjugated 7 - hydroxy - 4 - methylcoumarin was detected after incubation of compound ( 12 ) with placental microsomes . the inclusion of emate in the reaction mixture reduced the hydrolysis of compound ( 12 ) by e1 - sts , indicating that the coumarin sulphate is indeed a substrate for the sulphatase . the dose - dependent inhibition of oestrone sulphatase in intact mcf - 7 breast cancer cells by coumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 13 ), 4 - methylcoumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 14 ), 3 , 4 , 8 - trimethyl - coumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 15 ) and 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) coumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 16 ) can be seen from fig1 . assays were performed essentially as previously described . monolayers of intact mcf - 7 cells in 25 cm 3 flasks were incubated for 20 h at 37 ° c . with [ 3 h ] oestrone sulphate ( 2 nm ) and coumarin sulphamates at 0 . 1 - 10 μm . oestrone sulphatase activity was determined by measuring the total amount of 3 h - labeled oestrone and oestradiol formed . sulphatase activity in untreated cells was 100 - 200 fmol / 20 h / 10 6 cells . each point represents the mean ± s . d . of triplicate measurements . ( j . med . chem . 1994 , 37 , 219 - 21 ; biochemistry 1995 , 34 , 11508 - 14 .) the free parent coumarins of all coumarin sulphamates prepared showed little or no e1 - sts inhibitory activity when tested up to 10 μm . however , in contrast , all four coumarin sulphamates ( compounds 13 - 16 ) inhibited oestrone sulphatase inhibitory activity in a dose - dependent manner ( fig1 ) and the inhibition at 10 μm ranged from 71 . 5 % for compound 16 to 93 . 3 % for compound 14 . the ic 50 for inhibition of e1 - sts by compound 14 , the most effective inhibitor , measured using intact mcf - 7 cells was 380 nm . the time - and concentration - dependent inactivation of oestrone sulphatase by 4 - methyl - coumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( 14 ) can be seen from fig1 . placental microsomes ( 200 μg ) were preincubated with ( 14 ) ( control , ; 0 . 5 μm , δ and 10 μm , ★) for 0 - 30 min at 37 ° c . followed by incubation with dextran - charcoal for 10 min at 4 ° c . dextran - charcoal was sedimented by centrifugation and portions of the supernatants were then incubated with [ 3 h ] oestrone sulphate ( 20 μm ) for 1 h at 37 ° c . to assess remaining sulphatase activity . duplicate experiments were run at each concentration , but assays for residual activity were taken at different times in each experiment . as with emate , compound 14 inhibited e1 - sts activity in a time - and concentration - dependent manner in a biphasic fashion ( fig1 ), indicating a similar mechanism of action ( potential chemical modification of two active site residues ). at 10 μm , compound 14 reduced the original e1 - sts activity by 95 % after preincubating the enzyme with the inhibitor for 20 min . additional experiments revealed that compound 14 inhibited placental microsomal dha - sts activity by 93 . 6 % at the same concentration . in order to examine if compound 14 possessed oestrogenic activity and also to test its ability to inhibit e1 - sts in vivo , it was administered to rats ( 1 mg / kg subcutaneously . in propylene glycol for 5 days ) 14 days after ovariectomy had been performed . administration of compound 14 did not result in any significant increase in the uterine weight in these rats ( data not shown ), showing that compound 14 showed reduced oestrogenic agonist properties . the e1 - sts activity in the uteri obtained from these animals was inhibited by 89 . 4 % compared with the activity in untreated animals . preliminary data also demonstrate potent oral activity in rats for compound 14 , similar to that observed for emate . in addition to these in vivo results , another series of rats ( each weighing approximately 200 g ) received 4 - methyl coumarin - 7 - o - sulphamate ( compound 14 ) orally in propylene glycol either as a single dose ( sd ) or daily for seven days ( multiple dose , md .). inhibition of sulphatase activity was assessed in white blood cells ( wbcs ) that were collected after a sd or md . sulphatase activity was assayed using labelled oestrone sulphate as the substrate and measuring the release of oestrone . the results are shown in fig1 and in the table below : other modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the formulae are presented in fig1 a , 16 b , 16 c , 17 - 22 . the sulphamate derivatives were prepared essentially as described previously ( j . med . chem . 37 : 219 - 21 ). in this regard , a solution of the appropriate flavone , isoflavone or flavanone in anhydrous dmf was treated with sodium hydride ( 60 % dispersion ; 1 equiv for 2 and 4 ; 2 equiv for 6 , 8 and 10 ) at 0 ° c . under an atmosphere of n 2 . after evolution of hydrogen had ceased , sulfamoyl chloride ( 2 equiv except for 8 , 5 equiv ) was added and the reaction mixture was poured into brine after warming to room temperature overnight and diluting with ethyl acetate . the organic fraction was washed exhaustively with brine , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated . the crude product obtained was purified by flash chromatography and recrystallisation to give the corresponding sulfamate . 6 - hydroxyflavone ( 1 . 0 g , 4 . 113 mmol ) gave crude product ( 1 . 21 g ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with ethyl acetate . upon evaporation the first fraction gave a creamy residue ( 760 mg , 58 . 2 %) which was recrystallized in warm acetonelhexane ( 3 : 2 ) to give 2 as creamy rod - shaped crystals ( 557 mg ). m . p . 190 - 191 ° c . ; r f s = 0 . 71 ( ethyl acetate ), 0 . 51 ( ethyl acetae / hexane , 2 : 1 ), νmax ( kbr ) 3260 , 3040 , 1620 , 1600 , 1580 , 1370 , 1180 cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 6 . 917 ( 1h , s , c - 3 - h ), 7 . 355 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 64 ( 3h , m , c - 3 ′- h , c - 4 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 7 . 75 ( 1h , dd , j c - 8 - h , c - 7 - h = 9 hz and j c - 5 - h , c - 7 - h = 3 hz , c - 7 - h ), 7 . 87 ( 1h , d , j c - 7 - h , c - 8 - h = 9 hz , c - 8 - h ), 8 . 02 ( 1h , d , j c - 7 - h , c - 5 - h 32 3 hz , c - 5 - h ) and 8 . 13 ( 2h , m , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h ). ms : m / z ( e . i ., rel . intensity ) 317 . 0 ( 11 ), 304 . 2 ( 6 ), 238 . 0 ( 96 ), 210 . 0 ( 16 ), 187 . 1 ( 14 ), 152 . 0 ( 8 ), 136 . 0 ( 100 ). acc . ms ( e . i . ): m / z 317 . 0296 , c 15 h 11 no 5 s requires 317 . 0358 . found c , 56 . 7 ; h , 3 . 44 ; n , 4 . 31 . c 13 h 11 no 5 s requires c , 56 . 78 ; h , 3 . 49 ; n , 4 . 41 %. 7 - hydroxyflavone ( 700 mg , 2 . 938 mmol ) gave crude product ( 770 mg ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with ethyl acetate . upon evaporation , the first fraction gave a light brown residue ( 132 mg ) which was recrystallised in hot isopropyl alcohol to give 4 as white needle - shaped crystals ( 60 mg ), m . p . 172 - 174 ° c . ( dec . ); r f s = 0 . 78 ( ethyl acetate ), 0 . 56 ( ethyl acetate / hexane , 4 . 1 ): νmax ( kbr ) 3260 , 3100 , 1630 , 1600 , 1400 , 1580 , 1200 , 1150 cm − 1 ; δ h ( dmso - d 6 / cdcl 3 , ca . 1 : 20 ) 6 . 824 ( 1h , s , c - 3 - h ), 7 . 396 ( 1h , dd , j c - 5 - h , c - 6 - h = 8 . 8 hz and j c - 8 - h , c - 6 - h = 2 . 2 hz , c - 6 - h ), 7 . 47 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 55 ( 3h , m , c - 3 ′- h , c - 4 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 7 . 639 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 8 - h = 2 . 2 hz , c - 8 - h ), 7 . 92 ( 2h , m , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h ) and 8 . 220 ( 1h , d , j c - 6 - h , c - 5 - h = 8 . 8 hz , c - 5 - h ). found : c , 56 . 5 : h , 3 . 36 : n , 4 . 19 . c 15 h 11 no 5 s requires c , 56 . 78 ; h , 3 . 49 ; n , 4 . 41 %. 5 , 7 - dihydroxyflavone ( 1 , 0 g , 3 . 933 mmol ) gave crude product ( 1 . 13 g ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with chloroform / acetone ( 8 : 1 ). upon evaporation , the second fraction gave a yellow residue ( 324 mg , 24 . 7 %) which was recrystallised in ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give 6 as yellow crystals ( 213 mg ), m . p . 195 - 200 ° c . ( dec . ); r f s = 0 . 21 , 0 . 25 and 0 . 44 for chloroform / acetone 12 : 1 , 8 : 1 and 4 : 1 respectively : νmax ( kbr ) 3360 , 3250 , 2925 - 2850 , 1650 , 1610 , 1380 cm − 1 , δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 6 . 75 , 6 . 98 . 7 . 17 ( 3h , three s , c - 3 - h , c - 6 - h , c - 8 - h ), 7 . 63 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 65 ( 3h , m , c - 3 ′- h , c - 4 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 8 . 15 ( 2h , d , j = 7 . 7 hz , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h ) and 13 . 0 ( 1h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , c - 5 - o h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 440 . 1 ( 10 ). 389 . 3 ( 10 ), 334 . 1 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 288 . 1 ( 17 ), 255 . 0 [ 25 , ( m + h − 79 ) + ], 169 . 1 ( 30 ). ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 499 . 0 ( 30 ), 484 . 1 [ 14 , ( m − 2h + 153 ) − ], 475 . 1 ( 20 ), 443 . 1 ( 24 ), 332 . 1 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 308 . 1 ( 28 ), 274 . 1 ( 20 ), 253 . 1 [ 50 , ( m − h − 79 ) − ], 195 . 1 ( 24 ). acc . ms (+ ve ion fab in m - nba ): m / z 334 . 0392 , c 15 h 12 no 6 s requires 334 . 0385 . found : c , 54 . 0 ; h , 3 . 39 ; n , 4 . 21 , c 15 h 11 no 6 s requires c , 54 . 03 ; h , 3 . 33 ; n , 4 . 20 %. 4 ′, 5 , 7 - trihydroxyflavantone ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 675 mmol ) gave crude product ( 965 mg ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with ethyl acetatelhexane ( 4 : 1 ) to give a mixture of the starting flavanone and product . this mixture was further fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with chloroform / acetone ( 4 : 1 ) and upon evaporation , the second fraction gave a pale yellow oil ( 345 mg , 34 %) which solidified on standing . subsequent recrystallisation of this solid in ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 1 ) gave 8 as white crystals ( 259 mg ). m . p . 211 - 213 ° c . ; r f = 0 . 21 ( chloroform / acetone , 4 : 1 ); νmax ( kbr ) 3420 , 3340 , 3260 , 3140 , 1640 , 1510 , 1380 , 1160 cm 31 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 2 . 84 ( 1h , dd , j ab = 17 . 4 hz and j ax , eq = 3 . 1 hz , c - 3 - h b ), 3 . 19 ( 1h , dd , j ba = 16 . 9 hz and j ax , ax = 12 . 8 hz , c - 3 - h a ), 5 . 62 ( 1h , dd , j ax , eq = 3 . 1 hz and j ax , ax = 12 . 8 hz , c - 2 - h ), 5 . 98 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 0 hz , c - 6 - h or c - 8 - h ), 6 . 01 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 0 hz , c - 6 - h or c - 8 - h ), 7 . 20 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 40 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h ), 7 . 66 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz , c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 9 . 65 ( 1h , br s , c - 7 - o h ) and 12 . 15 ( 1h , s , c - 5 - o h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 352 . 0 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 288 . 1 ( 10 ), 272 . 1 [ 14 , ( m - 79 ) − ], 255 . 2 ( 9 ), 169 . 0 ( 13 ). ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 701 . 2 ( 12 ), 606 . 2 ( 10 ), 517 . 1 ( 42 ), 504 . 1 [ 20 , ( m + 153 ) − ], 473 . 2 ( 10 ), 350 . 1 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 271 . 1 [ 45 , ( m − h − 79 ) − ], 182 . 0 ( 8 ). acc . ms (+ ve ion fab in m - nba ): m / z 352 . 0496 , c 15 h 14 no 7 s requires 352 . 0491 . found : c , 51 . 1 ; h , 3 . 68 ; n , 3 . 98 . c 15 h 13 no 7 s requires c , 51 . 28 ; h , 3 . 73 ; n , 3 . 99 %. 5 , 7 - dihydroxy - 4 ′- methoxyisoflavone ( 800 mg , 2 . 817 mmol ) gave crude product ( 650 mg ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with chloroformlacetone ( 8 : 1 ). upon evaporation , the second fraction gave a yellow residue ( 266 mg , 26 %,) which was recrystallised in ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give 10 as yellow crystals ( 211 mg ), m . p . 184 - 188 ° c . ; r f s = 0 . 22 and 0 . 59 for chloroform / acetone 8 : 1 and 4 : 1 respectively ; νmax ( kbr ) 3300 - 3020 , 1660 , 1610 , 1400 cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 3 . 86 ( 3h , s , — oc h 3 ), 6 . 75 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 2 hz , c - 6 - h or c - 8 - h ), 7 . 04 ( 3h , m , c - 6 - h or c - 8 - h and c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 7 . 49 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 58 ( 2h , d , j = 7 hz , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h ), 8 . 41 ( 1h , s , c - 2 - h ), 13 . 05 ( 1h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , c - 5 - o h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba . rel . intensity ) 393 . 3 ( 12 ), 364 . 0 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 284 . 1 [ 12 , ( m − 79 ) + ], 169 . 1 ( 24 ), 134 . 0 ( 22 ). ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 529 . 1 ( 25 ), 515 . 1 [ 12 , ( m − h + 153 ) − ], 442 . 1 ( 20 ), 362 . 1 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 308 . 1 ( 34 ), 283 . 1 [ 70 , ( m − h − 79 ) − ], 170 . 1 ( 26 ). acc . ms (+ ve ion fab in m - nba ): m / z 364 . 0494 , c 16 h 14 no 7 s requires 364 . 0491 . found : c , 52 . 8 ; h , 3 . 65 ; n , 3 . 81 . c 16 h 13 no 7 s requires c , 52 . 89 ; h , 3 . 61 ; n , 3 . 85 %. 4 ′, 5 , 7 - trihydroxy isoflavone ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 85 mmol ) upon sulphamoylation gave a crude product ( 0 . 65 g ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with chloroform / acetone ( 4 : 1 ), and upon evaporation the third fraction gave a light yellow residue ( 0 . 329 g , 51 %) which was recrystallized in ethylacetate / hexane ( 1 : 2 ) to give compound ( 11 ) as beige crystals ( 0 . 197 g ); m . p =& gt ; 198 ° c . ( dec ); r f s = 0 . 14 and 0 . 24 for chloroform / acetone 4 : 1 and 2 : 1 respectively ; ν max ( kbr ) 3460 (— nh 2 ), 1650 ( c ═ o ), 1400 (— so 2 n —) cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 6 . 78 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 2 hz , c - 6 - h or c - 8 - h , 7 . 03 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 2 hz , c - 8 - h or c - 6 - h ), 7 . 4 ( 4h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , c - 4 ′- oso 2 n h , and c - 7 - oso 2 n h ), 7 . 43 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h or c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h ), 7 . 72 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h or c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 8 . 51 ( 1h , s , c - 2 - h ) and 12 . 93 ( 1h , s , c - 5 - o h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 428 . 9 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 350 . 0 [ 20 , ( m + h − so 2 nh 2 ) + ], 272 . 1 [ 30 , ( m − h − so 2 nh 2 ) + ]. ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 426 . 9 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 347 . 9 [ 95 , ( m − h − so 2 nh 2 ) − ], 269 . 0 [ 30 , ( m − h − so 2 nh 2 ) − ]. acc . ms : m / z ( fab ) + 429 . 0083 c 15 h 13 n 2 o 9 s 2 requires 429 . 0063 . found c , 42 . 0 ; h , 2 . 91 ; n , 6 . 45 ; c 15 h 12 n 2 o 9 s 2 requires c , 42 . 06 ; h , 2 . 82 ; n , 6 . 54 %. the second fraction was collected and upon evaporation gave light yellow residue ( 0 . 112 g , 17 %) which was recrystallized in ethylacetate / hexane ( 1 : 3 ) to give compound ( 12 ) as pale white crystals ( 0 . 068 g ); m . p .= 189 - 192 ° c . r f s = 0 . 23 and 0 . 33 for chloroform / acetone 4 : 1 and 2 : 1 respectively ; ν max ( kbr ) 3500 - 3300 (— nf 2 ), 3200 ( h - bonded - oh ), 1680 ( c ═ o ), 1610 , 1400 (— so 2 n —) cm − 1 ; δ h ( acetone - d 6 ) 6 . 32 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 2 hz , c - 6 - h or c - 8 - h ), 6 . 46 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 2 hz , c - 8 - h or c - 6 - h ), 7 . 32 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o —- so 2 n h 2 ), 7 . 42 ( 2h , t , j = 8 . 4 hz , c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h or c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h , 7 . 69 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h or c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 8 . 31 ( 1h , s , c - 2 - h ), 9 . 53 ( 1h , s , c - 7 - o h ) and 12 . 9 ( 1h , s , c - 5 - o h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 350 . 0 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 271 . 1 [ 15 , ( m + h − so 2 nh 2 ) + ]. ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 347 . 9 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 269 . 0 [ 20 , ( m − h − so 2 nh 2 ) − ]. acc . ms : m / z ( fab ) + 350 . 0347 c 15 h 12 no 7 s requires 350 . 0335 . found c , 51 . 0 ; h , 3 . 16 : n , 3 . 90 ; c 15 h 11 no 7 s requires c , 51 . 58 ; h , 3 . 17 ; n , 4 . 01 %. 4 ′, 7 - dihydroxy isoflavone ( 0 . 45 g , 1 . 77 mmol ) upon sulphamoylation gave a crude product ( 0 . 769 g ) which was fractionated on silica ( 200 g ) with chloroform / acetone ( 4 : 1 ), and upon evaporation the second fraction gave a pale white residue ( 0 . 553 g , 72 %) which was recrystallized in acetone / hexane ( 1 : 2 ) to give the compound ( 13 ) as white crystals ( 0 . 327 g ); m . p .& gt ; 195 ° c . ( dec . ); r f s = 0 . 21 and 0 . 40 for chloroformn / acetone 4 : 1 and 2 : 1 respectively ; ν max ( kbr ) 3400 (— nh 2 ), 1640 ( c ═ o ), 1360 (— so 2 n —) cm − 1 ; δ h ( dmso - d 6 ), 7 . 37 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 8 hz . c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h or c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h , 7 . 42 ( 1h , dd , j c - 6 - h , c - 8 - h = 2 . 2 hz , j c - 6 - h , c - 5 - h = 8 . 8 hz , c - 6 - h ), 7 . 7 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 8 hz , c - 2 ′- h and c - 6 ′- h or c - 3 ′- h and c - 5 ′- h ), 8 . 09 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 8 hz , c - 5 - h , 8 . 36 ( 2h , br s , exchanged with d 2 o , — oso 2 n h 2 ), 8 . 63 ( 1h , s , c - 2 - h ). ms : m / z (+ ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 412 . 9 [ 100 , ( m + h ) + ], 334 . 0 [ 25 , ( m + h − so 2 nh 2 ) + ], 255 . 1 [ 20 , ( m + h − so 2 nh 2 ) + ]. ms : m / z (− ve ion fab in m - nba , rel . intensity ) 410 . 9 [ 100 , ( m − h ) − ], 332 . 0 ( 70 , ( m − h − so 2 nh 2 ) − ], 253 . 0 [ 30 , ( m − h − so 2 nh 2 ) − ]. acc . ms : m / z ( fab ) + 413 . 0119 c 15 h 13 n 2 o 8 s 2 requires 413 . 0113 . found c , 44 . 0 ; h , 2 . 94 ; n , 6 . 62 ; c 15 h 12 n 2 o 8 s 2 requires c , 43 . 69 : h , 2 . 93 ; n , 6 . 79 %. sulphatase inhibition was assessed using placental microsome ( 100 , 000 g ) preparations or intact mcf - 7 breast cancer cells as described previously . placental microsomes were incubated with 3 h e1s , adjusted to 20 μm with unlabelled substrate , in the absence or presence of inhibitor . ( j med chem 37 : 219 - 21 ; biochemistry 34 : 11508 - 14 .) placental microsomes were also used to assess the aromatase inhibitory properties of the flavanoid sulphamates using a tritiated water release assay ( j steroid biochem 24 : 1033 - 39 ). further placental microsomes ( 200 μl ) were incubated with [ 1β - 3 h ] androstenedione , 60 nm and 1 mm nadph in the absence or presence of inhibitor . inhibition of oestrone sulphatase and aromatase activities in placental microsomes by the flavanoid sulphamate derivatives is shown in the table below . from the results , it can be seen that potent inhibition of sulphatase and aromatase activities was detected . for sulphatase inhibition this ranged from 21 % at 10 μm by 5 - hydroxy flavone - 7 - sulphamate , to 98 % by 5 , 7 - dihydroxy flavanone - 4 ′- sulphamate at 10 μm . potent aromatase inhibition was also achieved ranging from 6 . 5 % by flavone - 6 - sulphamate at 10 μm to 86 % by flavone - 7 - sulphamate at 10 μm . the following table presents in vitro data for three isoflavones that were tested . fig2 presents in vivo inhibition of oestrone sulphatase activity in rat liver for two isoflavones according to the present invention . in this regard , bh22f1 = 5 - hydroxy isoflavone - 4 ′, 7 - bissulphamate ; bh22bf1 = 5 , 7 - dihydroxy isoflavone - 4 ′- sulphamate . compounds were administered as a single 10 mg / kg dose . oestrone sulphatase activity was assayed in tissue samples obtained 24 h after drug administration . other modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the preparation of various compounds in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in fig3 to 38 . in these figures , the curved lines attached to the phenyl rings represent the remainder of the ringed structure . the ability of compounds to inhibit bestrone sulphatase activity was assessed using either intact mcf - 7 breast cancer cells or placental microsomes as previously described ( int . j . cancer 1995 , 62 , 106 - 11 .). in this regard , the teachings of that earlier reference are as follows : steroid sulphatase activity was measured in vitro using intact mcf - 7 human breast cancer cells . this hormone dependent cell line is widely used to study the control of human breast cancer cell growth . it possesses significant steroid sulphatase activity ( macindoe et al . endocrinology , 123 , 1281 - 1287 ( 1988 ); purohit & amp ; reed , int . j . cancer , 50 , 901 - 905 ( 1992 )) and is available in the u . s . a . from the american type culture collection ( atcc ) and in the u . k . ( e . g . from the imperial cancer research fund ). cells were maintained in minimal essential medium ( mem ) ( flow laboratories , irvine , scotland ) containing 20 mm hepes , 5 % foetal bovine serum , 2 mm glutamine , non - essential amino acids and 0 . 075 % sodium bicarbonate . up to 30 replicate 25 cm 2 tissue culture flasks were seeded with approximately 1 × 10 5 cells / flask using the above medium . cells were grown to 80 % confluency and medium was changed every third day . intact monolayers of mcf - 7 cells in triplicate 25 cm 2 tissue culture flasks were washed with earle &# 39 ; s balanced salt solution ( ebss from icn flow , high wycombe , u . k .) and incubated for 3 - 4 hours at 37 ° c . with 5 pmol ( 7 × 10 5 dpm ) [ 6 , 7 - 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate ( specific activity 60 ci / mmol from new england nuclear , boston , mass ., u . s . a .) in serum - free mem ( 2 . 5 ml ) together with oestrone - 3 - sulphamate ( 11 concentrations : 0 ; 1 fm ; 0 . 01 pm ; 0 . 1 pm ; 1 pm ; 0 . 01 nm ; 0 . 1 nm ; 1 nm ; 0 . 01 mm ; 0 . 1 mm ; 1 mm ). after incubation each flask was cooled and the medium ( 1 ml ) was pipetted into separate tubes containing [ 14 c ] oestrone ( 7 × 10 3 dpm ) ( specific activity 97 ci / mmol from amersham international radiochemical centre , amersham , u . k .). the mixture was shaken thoroughly for 30 seconds with toluene ( 5 ml ). experiments showed that & gt ; 90 % [ 14 c ] oestrone and & lt ; 0 . 1 % [ 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate was removed from the aqueous phase by this treatment . a portion ( 2 ml ) of the organic phase was removed , evaporated and the 3 h and 14 c content of the residue determined by scintillation spectrometry . the mass of oestrone - 3 - sulphate hydrolysed was calculated from the 3 h counts obtained ( corrected for the volumes of the medium and organic phase used , and for recovery of [ 14 c ] oestrone added ) and the specific activity of the substrate . each batch of experiments included incubations of microsomes prepared from a sulphatase - positive human placenta ( positive control ) and flasks without cells ( to assess apparent non - enymatic hydrolysis of the substrate ). the number of cell nuclei per flask was determined using a coulter counter after treating the cell monolayers with zaponin . one flask in each batch was used to assess cell membrane status and viability using the trypan blue exclusion method ( phillips , h . j . ( 1973 ) in : tssue culture and applications , [ eds : kruse , d . f . & amp ; patterson , m . k . ]; pp . 406 - 408 ; academic press , new york ). results for steroid sulphatase activity are expressed as the mean ± 1 s . d . of the total product ( oestrone + oestradiol ) formed during the incubation period ( 20 hours ) calculated for 10 6 cells and , for values showing statistical significance , as a percentage reduction inhibition ) over incubations containing no oestrone - 3 - sulphamate . unpaired student &# 39 ; s t - test was used to test the statistical significance of results . sulphatase - positive human placenta from normal term pregnancies ( obstetric ward , st . mary &# 39 ; s hospital , london ) were thoroughly minced with scissors and washed once with cold phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 4 , 50 mm ) then re - suspended in cold phosphate buffer ( 5 ml / g tissue ). homogenisation was accomplished with an ultra - turrax homogeniser , using three 10 second bursts separated by 2 minute cooling periods in ice . nuclei and cell debris were removed by centrifuging ( 4 ° c .) at 2000 g for 30 minutes and portions ( 2 ml ) of the supernatant were stored at − 20 ° c . the protein concentration of the supernatants was is determined by the method of bradford ( anal . biochem ., 72 , 248 - 254 ( 1976 )). incubations ( 1 ml ) were carried out using a protein concentration of 100 mg / ml , substrate concentration of 20 mm [ 6 , 7 - 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate ( specific activity 60 ci / mmol from new england nuclear , boston , mass ., u . s . a .) and an incubation time of 20 minutes at 37 ° c . if necessary eight concentrations of compounds are employed : 0 ( i . e . control ); 0 . 05 mm ; 0 . 1 mm ; 0 . 2 mm ; 0 . 4 mm ; 0 . 6 mm ; 0 . 8 mm ; 1 . 0 mm . after incubation each sample was cooled and the medium ( 1 ml ) was pipetted into separate tubes containing [ 14 c ] oestrone ( 7 × 10 3 dpm ) ( specific activity 97 ci / mmol from amersham international radiochemical centre , amersham , u . k .). the mixture was shaken thoroughly for 30 seconds with toluene ( 5 ml ). experiments showed that & gt ; 90 % [ 14 c ] oestrone and & lt ; 0 . 1 % [ 3 h ] oestrone - 3 - sulphate was removed from the aqueous phase by his treatment . a portion ( 2 ml ) of the organic phase was removed , evaporated and the 3 h and 14 c content of the residue determined by scintillation spectrometry . the mass of oestrone - 3 - sulphate hydrolysed was calculated from the 3 h counts obtained ( corrected for the volumes of the medium and organic phase used , and for recovery of [ 14 c ] oestrone added ) and the specific activity of the substrate . for the present invention , the percentage inhibition for the series of emate analogues tested in either mcf - 7 cells or placental microsomes is shown in table 1 , below . using 17 - deoxy oestrone - 3 - o - sulphamate ( nomate , fig2 , formula iv where x =— oso 2 nh 2 , y =— ch 2 — and r 1 and r 2 = h , and fig3 ) as a representative example , the ability of this compound to inhibit oestrone sulphatase activity in vivo was examined in rats . the oestrogenicity of this compound was examined in ovariectomised rats . in this model compounds which are oestrogenic stimulate uterine growth . nomate ( 0 . 1 mg / kg / day for five days ) was administered orally to rats with another group of animals receiving vehicle only ( propylene glycol ). at the end of the study samples of liver tissue were obtained and oestrone sulphatase activity assayed using 3 h oestrone sulphate as the substrate as previously described ( int . j . cancer , 1995 , 62 , 106 - 11 ). as shown in fig3 , administration of this dose of nomate effectively inhibited oestrone sulphatase activity by 98 % compared with untreated controls . nomate ( 0 . 1 mg / kg / day for five days ) was administered orally to rats with another group of animals receiving vehicle only ( propylene glycol ). at the end of the study uteri were obtained and weighed with the results being expressed as uterine weight / whole body weight × 100 . as shown in fig4 administration of nomate at the dose tested , but had no significant effect on uterine growth , showing that at this dose the compound is not oestrogenic .
the invention pertains to methods for introducing an estrogenic compound into a subject in need thereof involving administering an effective amount of a ring system compound having the formula wherein each of r 1 and r 2 is independently selected from h , alkyl , alkenyl , cycloalkyl and aryl , and at least one of r 1 and r 2 is h , or together represent alkylene optionally containing one or more hetero atoms or groups in the alkylene chain ; and the ring system abcd represents a substituted or unsubstituted , saturated or unsaturated steroid nucleus selected from the group consisting of oestrones , dehydroepiandrosterones , substituted oestrones , oestradiols , substituted oestradiols , oestriols , substituted dehydroepiandrosterones , or substituted oestriols ; wherein the compound is an inhibitor of an enzyme having steroid sulphatase activity , or a pharmceutically acceptable salt thereof .