Question

Which of the following is a female sex hormone

• A. Stilbestrol
• B. Testosterone
• C. Estrogen
• D. Benzestrol

Hint:

Estrogen is essential for female reproductive health and is produced primarily in the ovaries.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Female sex hormones are the ones secreted by the ovaries that control female reproductive function. Testosterone belongs to males, while stilbestrol and benzestrol are lab-made estrogen substitutes rather than hormones the body itself produces. The only naturally secreted female sex hormone in the list is estrogen, which regulates puberty, the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy. So the answer is estrogen.

Answer 2

Another way to reach the answer is to think about the source gland: which of these four substances actually comes from the ovary?

1. Stilbestrol: Produced in a laboratory, not by any endocrine gland in the body.
2. Testosterone: Produced chiefly by the testes in males (small amounts by adrenal cortex/ovary), so it is defined as a male hormone.
3. Estrogen: Secreted directly by the ovarian follicles and corpus luteum; this is the hormone whose rising and falling levels drive the female reproductive cycle.
4. Benzestrol: A synthetic drug developed to imitate estrogen's effect, not a gland secretion.

Since only estrogen is an actual ovarian secretion among the four, it is the true female sex hormone.

Therefore, the correct answer is Estrogen.