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Dietary Isoflavones-Mechanism and Efficacy in Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Published in Sheeba Varghese Gupta, Yashwant V. Pathak, Advances in Nutraceutical Applications in Cancer, 2019
Richa Dayaramani, Jayvadan K. Patel
The aglycon form of isoflavones are found to be relatively more stable in the GIT and possess higher estrogenic and antioxidant properties than the glycosidic form. Some of the aglycons like genistein and daidzein decomposed in the GIT into the more effective metabolite equol [20]. The equol binds to both the estrogenic receptors and hence demonstrates higher estrogenic behavior and anti-oxidant property. The studies have shown that the human body cannot produce equol itself and, hence, it should be consumed externally from the food [16].
The Promise for Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
Published in Dilip Ghosh, Pulok K. Mukherjee, Natural Medicines, 2019
Víctor Andrade, Leonardo Guzmán-Martínez, Nicole Cortés, Ricardo B. Maccioni
Oxaloacetate (3-carboxy-3-oxopropanoic acid, OAA) is a natural chemical that participates in Krebs cycle and acts as a glutamate scavenger (Zlotnik et al. 2012). It is found in blueberries, blackberries, tangerines and plums, and in vegetables as spinach, beets and quinoa (Simpson et al. 2009; Ghosh Das and Savage 2013; Lin et al. 2016; Siener et al. 2016). Legumes and nuts also have high OAA content (Chai and Liebman 2005). Due to its bioenergetic, anti-inflammatory and neurogenetic properties, OAA has been postulated as a possible treatment for AD (Wilkins et al. 2014). An incipient phase 1, non-randomised clinical trial is now recruiting subjects with diagnosis of probable AD to verify safety and tolerance (Table 14.2). In a previous study, a very modest cohort of 6 participants showed that twice daily treatment of 100 mg of OAA for 4 weeks was safe and well-tolerated (Swerdlow et al. 2016). Another natural compound related to mitochondria metabolism is S-equol (7-hydroxy-3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman). It is an oestrogen receptor β (ERβ) agonist, present predominantly in soy (Setchell et al. 2005; Jackson et al. 2011). It has been found in the brains of AD patients, evidence of a decrease in mitochondria activity by dysfunction (Hirai et al. 2001; Swerdlow 2012). S-equol has been proposed as a potential treatment for this pathology. A phase 2, randomised, double-blind trial is recruiting AD subjects to evaluate safety and tolerability in addition to mitochondrial activity and cognitive functions (Table 14.2).
Antioxidant properties and application information
Published in Roger L. McMullen, Antioxidants and the Skin, 2018
Equol is an isoflavonoid that has antioxidant, extracellular matrix enhancing, and phytoestrogenic properties. A considerable amount of research has gone into understanding its anti-aging properties in human skin. Equol is a metabolic product of daidzein—an isoflavone found in soybeans—which is metabolized by intestinal bacteria. Equol is also found in beans, cabbage, lettuce, and other plant species.
Safety of non-hormonal medications for managing hot flashes
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Pasquale De Franciscis, Maurizio Guida, Antonio Schiattarella, Gaetano Riemma, Nicola Colacurci
The soybean is a legume species that represents a natural source of isoflavones, phytic acid, omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, and B vitamin. It is also called ‘Glycine max’ and is native to East Asia. Among foods, only soybean-derived products present a relevant amount of isoflavones as free forms (aglycones) or as conjugated with carbohydrates (glycosides, acetylglycoside and malonylglucoside). The key biological activity is related to the amount of the active aglycone forms of genistein and daidzein derived from the intestinal passage. In fact, isoflavone glycosides need to be hydrolyzed to the aglycone form before absorption in the upper small intestine by passive diffusion [21]. The enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis are glucosidases, which can be produced by the intestinal mucosa or the microbiota [22]. On this basis, it has been suggested to combine soy isoflavones with lactic acid bacteria in the form of spores, resistant to gastric and biliary secretion to assure the bioavailability of soy isoflavones [23]. Subsequently, the unabsorbed isoflavones reach the colon, where they are absorbed after structural modifications induced by colonic microbiota. Daidzein is first converted into dihydrodaidzein, which is the precursor of both equol and O-demethylangolensin (O-DMA) [24]. Finally, Equol is obtained. This is the most biological active metabolite [25] but its production is highly variable in humans, and therefore beneficial effects have been observed only in individuals with a specific microbiota composition [26].
Depletion of dietary phytoestrogens reduces hippocampal plasticity and contextual fear memory stability in adult male mouse
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2021
Gürsel Çalışkan, Syed Ahsan Raza, Yunus E. Demiray, Emre Kul, Kiran V. Sandhu, Oliver Stork
Another major finding of this study is the acute rescue of reduced LTP in the VH of mice on low-phyto diet by equol. In rodents under high phytoestrogen diet, equol is found in higher levels compared to other biologically active metabolites daidzein and genistein, in the serum [2,9,16,18] and in the brain [60]. Although equol can exert its estrogenic effects via binding to both forms of estrogen receptors, its binding affinity to the ß estrogenic receptors is much more potent than to the α estrogenic receptors [10–12]. We suggest that reduction of circulating equol and, consequently, its absence in the hippocampus might lead to the reduction in the magnitude of LTP in the VH. Therefore, acute equol treatment during the LTP induction normalizes the LTP deficiency in low-phyto group and brings it to the LTP level of the phyto-300 group. In our study, we focused on the acute effects of equol on LTP magnitude as an attempt to discriminate acute from putative long-term effects of phytoestrogens. Indeed, the observed LTP deficiency in the low-phyto group is not likely to be caused by morphological/structural changes in the CA1 dendrites (e.g. reduced spine formation) since we observed an unaltered baseline transmission and the rescue of LTP-deficiency took place in an acute manner. Indeed, long-term blockade of neural E2 synthesis in male mice does not alter dendritic spine formation but results in a moderate reduction in LTP [50,61].
Effect of phytoestrogens on sexual function in menopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Published in Climacteric, 2018
M. Najaf Najafi, M. Ghazanfarpour
In addition to the aforementioned three trials, two trials did not have the required data to be included in the meta-analysis. Therefore, we reported them qualitatively. Welty et al. conducted a randomized controlled cross-over study in which 60 postmenopausal individuals were divided into two groups which received either therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) or TLC plus a half cup of soy. Sexual functions were measured using MENQOL. The sexual score decreased by 17.7% in the TLC plus soy group compared to the TLC group (p = 0.129)29. In the other trial, Davinelli et al. compared soy containing equol and resveratrol with placebo on sexual problems measured using the Menopause Rating Scale. The number of women affected by sexual problems declined by 23% in the group treated with soy containing equol and resveratrol. This proportion even increased to 73% following a prolonged treatment period. In the placebo group, the number of subjects affected by sexual problems declined by 20% in 1 month and 2% in 3 months. The two groups showed statistically significant differences at 3 months (p < 0.001) but not after 1 month of treatment8.