On the basis of the stucture of genistein, a new series of 3-arylquinazolines was prepared and tested for their estrogen receptor (ER) α and β affinities. 5, 7-Dihydroxy-3-(4- hydroxyphenyl)-4 (3 H)-quinazolinone (1aa) acts as an agonist on both ER subtypes. It has 62-fold higher binding affinity [IC50 (ERβ)= 179 nM] and 38-fold higher functional potency in a transcription assay [EC50 (ERβ)= 76 nM] with ERβ than with ERα, thus improving upon ...