During the past 20 years, a remarkable amount of research into the health effects of soy consumption has been conducted, which in large part can be attributed to the presence of isoflavones in the soybean. Isoflavones first came to the attention of the scientific community in the 1940s because of fertility problems observed in sheep grazing on a type of isoflavone-rich clover. In the 1950s, as ...

Soybean isoflavone synthase (IFS) and flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) are two key enzymes catalyzing the biosynthesis of isoflavonoids and flavonoids, both of which play diverse roles in stress responses. However, little is known about the evolutionary pattern of these genes in cultivated soybean and its wild progenitors. Herein, we investigated the nucleotide polymorphisms in Isoflavone synthase...

OBJECTIVE To explore the inhibitive effect of soybean isoflavone on the prostatic hyperplasia on the expressions of nitric oxid and nitric oxide synthase in the prostatic hyperplasia rats. METHODS Subcutaneously injected testosterone propionate were to induce prostate hyperplasia in rats. The changes of prostate wet weight, prostatic index, liver index, the changes of some biochemical indexes...

Consumption of isoflavone-rich soyabean protein is reported to reduce total and LDL-cholesterol, but the specific components responsible are undetermined. In a previous crossover trial we showed that purified isoflavones, derived from red clover (Trifolium pratense), raised HDL3-cholesterol in premenopausal women; however, these findings were inconclusive due to period and carryover effects. In...

The effect of soy isoflavones on the Maillard reaction (MR) was investigated. Model systems composed of the soy protein glycinin (10 mg mL(-1)) and fructose (40 mg mL(-1)) under basic pH (∼12) conditions were employed for testing the anti-glycative effect of the major antioxidant soy isoflavones (genistin and genistein at 10 μg mL(-1)) and a soy isoflavone-rich extract. The contents of total ph...

The effectiveness of soy isoflavones to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women is controversial. While consumption of soy in Vietnam is very high, we recently reported a prevalence of osteoporosis comparable to that of many Western populations. In the present study, we analyzed the isoflavone content of soy drink products commercially available in Vietnam and Sweden, and we also compared the...

PURPOSE We describe the effects of soy isoflavone consumption on prostate specific antigen (PSA), hormone levels, total cholesterol, and apoptosis in men with localized prostate cancer. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We conducted a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to examine the effect of soy isoflavone capsules (80 mg/d of total isoflavones, 51 mg/d aglucon units) on seru...

SCOPE In light of concerns about hormonally active agents, it is important to assess human exposure to such compounds, especially in children as a susceptible subgroup. Estrogenic plant constituents are present in the human diet in varying levels, in particular the isoflavones daidzein (DAI) and genistein (GEN). We aimed to examine age-dependent and secular trends in phytoestrogen exposures and...

Dietary isoflavones are biologically active in humans, but few observational data exist on the relationship between isoflavone intake and excretion in Western populations. We examined associations between self-reported soy intakes and overnight urinary isoflavone excretion in a population-based sample of western Washington State women, and we investigated the usefulness of one versus two overni...

BACKGROUND Phytochemicals found in soy and other legumes have been speculated to reduce the risk of endometrial cancer; however, inconsistent findings have been reported in the few epidemiological studies conducted to date. METHODS We conducted a prospective analysis of 46 027 nonhysterectomized postmenopausal women who were recruited into the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study between August 199...