The isoflavones daidzin and genistin, present in soybeans, can be transformed by the intestinal microbiota into equol 5-hydroxy-equol, compounds with enhanced availability bioactivity, although these are only produced a fraction of population. Hence, there is an interest production compounds, although, to date, few bacteria biotechnological applicability food have been found able produce equol....

Mechanisms of action of equol described using in vitro studies suggest possible effects of this compound in relation to cancer risk. However, experimental data are lacking with regard to the effects of S-(-)-equol (a gut bacterial product of daidzein), racemic equol, or even daidzein on tumorigenesis in vivo. Rodent studies, using racemic equol or daidzein in equol-producing animals, suggest th...

Equol, one of the main metabolites of daidzein, is a chiral compound with pleiotropic effects on cellular signaling. This property may induce activation/inhibition of the estrogen receptors (ER) a or b, and therefore, explain the beneficial/deleterious effects of equol on estrogen-dependent diseases. With its asymmetric centre at position C-3, equol can exist in two enantiomeric forms (R- and S...

Recent findings indicate that soy isoflavones and their metabolites may play a role in mitigating postmenopausal bone loss. Equol, a metabolite of the soy isoflavone daidzein produced by intestinal bacteria, has shown some potential, but only 30-50% of the U.S. population is capable of converting dietary daidzein to equol. There are limited data on the pharmacokinetics of dietary racemic equol ...

The development of atherosclerosis is closely related to excessive endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs). Equol reportedly protects against cardiovascular disease; however, the underlying mechanism for this protection remains unknown. Herein, the mechanisms contributing to the atheroprotective effect of equol were addressed using apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE-/-) mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) w...

Equol, a metabolite of daidzein for some intestinal microflora, is known to retain highly estrogenic activity and is of wide interest in relation to human health. However, not all humans can produce equol. In this study, detection of urinary equol using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was performed to distinguish between equol producers and non-producers. After 36 h of soy food intake, urine, c...

Phytoestrogens have been suggested as alternative treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Equol, a metabolite of daidzein, has been shown to inhibit bone loss in ovariectomized mice and rats. However, whether or not equol influences the formation of bone has not yet been investigated. Therefore, we investigated the effect of equol on the proliferation and differentiation of rat primary osteo...

Phytochemicals are botanical compounds used in dermatology applications as cosmeceuticals to improve skin health. Resveratrol and equol are two of the best-known polyphenolic or phytoestrogens having similar chemical structures and some overlapping biological functions to 17β-estradiol. Human skin gene expression was reviewed for 28 different biomarkers when resveratrol, 4' acetoxy resveratrol ...

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest that some of the clinical effectiveness of soy or daidzein, which is a type of isoflavone, may be attributed to a person's ability to produce equol from daidzein. Equol, which is a metabolite of one of the major soybean isoflavones called daidzein, is produced in the gastrointestinal tract by certain intestinal microbiota where present. Habitual dietary pattern...

To investigate the effects of equol on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis in human breast cancer cells, we first determined the antiproliferative effects of various concentrations of equol (1 nM to 100 µM) on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-453 cells at 24, 48 or 72 h of exposure. Equol significantly inhibited proliferation in MDA-MB-453 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In contrast, equol at low...