In this study we examine the effect of the phytoestrogen genistein on DNA methylation. DNA methylation is thought to inhibit transcription of genes by regulating alterations in chromatin structure. Estrogenic compounds have been reported to regulate DNA methylation in a small number of studies. Additionally, phytoestrogens are believed to affect ...

BACKGROUND: Soybeans contain estrogenic isoflavones that may influence plasma concentrations of transforming growth factor beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)) and plasma lipid and hemostatic risk factors for coronary heart disease. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of moderate intakes of soy protein containing intact phytoestrogens (high-isoflavone diet) and soy protein from which most of ...

BACKGROUND: Many of the benefits of soy have been attributed to soy isoflavones. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine the effects of high- and low-isoflavone soy-protein foods on both lipid and nonlipid risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Forty-one hyperlipidemic men and postmenopausal women participated in a study ...

BACKGROUND: This study has addressed concerns about possible effects of feeding human infants soy formula milk (SFM). METHODS: This is a feeding study in marmosets, using a mainly co-twin design. From 4-5 until 35-45 days of age, co-twin males were fed by hand with either standard (cow) formula milk (SMA ...

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that soy protein reduces some atherogenic lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, although lipoprotein(a) concentrations may be increased. The dose response of soy protein has not been established; neither has its effect on plasma total homocysteine. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the effect of 2 doses of ...

OBJECTIVE: The effects of soy protein isolate (SPI) versus casein on blood lipids and adiposity were investigated in rats fed methionine-equivalent diets. METHODS: Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats (230 to 250 g) were assigned in equal numbers to groups consuming SPI- or casein-based diets (20%) supplemented with L-methionine. After 28 d, ...

In human clinical intervention trials, soy product consumption reduced levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). In October 1999, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a health claim for the relationship between consumption of soy protein and reduced risk of coronary heart disease. This article provides an ...

This study sought to determine effects of high- and low-isoflavone soy protein foods on acute-phase proteins and proinflammatory cytokines and whether isoflavone phytoestrogens might act as estrogens, which enhance the immune response. Forty-one hypercholesterolemic men and postmenopausal women underwent three 1-month diets consisting of a low-fat dairy food control phase ...

Atherosclerosis, one of the major causative factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), is thought to be initiated by oxidative stress. Particular attention has been paid to the atherogenic effects of oxidative damage on low density lipoproteins (LDL). Current research shows that dietary antioxidant supplementation protects against oxidative stress, and therefore may ...

Hormonally active chemicals (HACs) that are capable of inducing adverse effects on wildlife as well as human beings are featured as "endocrine disruptors". Various animal studies conducted to clarify the characteristics of HACs, including the uterotrophic assay, are sufficiently sensitive to detect the effect of 17-beta-estradiol in micrograms per kilogram ...

The effects of rice starch-isoflavone diet or potato starch-isoflavone diet on plasma concentration of isoflavones, plasma lipids, cecal enzyme activity, and intestinal microflora were studied. Male 15-wk-old mice were fed a rice-starch-based or potato-starch-based diet supplemented with isoflavones for 4 wk, and plasma samples, cecal contents, and feces were collected ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of soy isoflavones with weak estrogen-like activities both on bone metabolism and on serum lipids in perimenopausal women. METHODS: Twenty-three healthy perimenopausal women were assigned randomly to either isoflavone or placebo groups. The isoflavone group (n = 12) received ...

Many rodent diets contain components such as soy isoflavones (daidzein and genistein) known to have estrogenic properties. The dietary background of phytoestrogens may modulate some responses to environmental estrogens when these compounds are tested in rodent bioassays. Thus, and since only few data were available on the phytoestrogen content of ...

Infants fed soy formula are the segment of the U. S. population that consumes the most soy. Before birth and after weaning, most Americans are not exposed to appreciable levels of soyfoods other than foods that have small amounts of processed soy components. The opposite scenario occurs in Asia, because ...

Dietary soy protein has been shown to have several beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. The best-documented effect is on plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, with reductions of approximately 10% in LDL cholesterol concentrations (somewhat greater for individuals with high pretreatment LDL cholesterol concentrations) and small increases in HDL cholesterol concentrations. ...

Humans and wildlife are frequently exposed to mixtures of endocrine active-compounds (EAC). The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential of the phytoestrogen genistein to influence the reproductive developmental toxicity of the endocrine-active pesticide methoxychlor. Three levels of genistein (0, 300, or 800 ppm) and two levels ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess beneficial effects of a soy rich diet on the main biomarkers of cardiovascular health in menopause, compared with the effects of the hormone replacement therapy (HRT). METHODS: 187 healthy asymptomatic postmenopausal women, aged 39-60, were recruited and randomized into three groups: a soy rich diet group, a ...

Soy diets suppress the development of neuropathic pain behavior in rats undergoing partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL) injury. Phytoestrogens, plant isoflavones and lignans, abundantly found in soy products, have powerful estrogenic properties. Because, in some preparations, steroid estrogens were found to exert antinociception, we examined whether the analgesic effect of ...

Soy products containing phytoestrogens have received much attention as dietary components to promote better health. Daidzein, an isoflavone and phytoestrogen component of soy, was investigated for its potential to alter fertility and cause developmental toxicity to the reproductive tract in female rats, for chemoprevention to the mammary gland, and to ...

We previously found that dietary soy protein produces higher lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] plasma concentrations than does casein. This study tested the hypothesis that soy protein contains Lp(a)-raising alcohol-removable components. Twelve normolipidemic women and men consumed, in a crossover design, liquid-formula diets containing casein, soy protein, or alcohol-extracted soy protein. Dietary periods ...

The incidence of clinically manifested prostate cancer is higher in the United States and Europe than in Asian countries. One of the major differences in lifestyle between these populations is the diet, with Asians consuming a greater amount of soy. Soy and genistein, the predominant isoflavone found in soy, inhibit ...

In order to evaluate acceptability and effectiveness of a partial addition of soy protein to the daily diet in well-established type II hypercholesterolemic individuals, a double-blind study was carried out with a soy milk providing 25 g/day of protein versus an identically formulated cow's milk. Twenty patients with type II ...

Isoflavonoids are plant estrogens that are increasingly advocated as a natural alternative to estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and are available as dietary supplements. As weak estrogen agonists/antagonists with a range of other enzymatic activities, the isoflavonoids provide a useful model for the actions of endocrine disruptors. This paper reviews the ...

Phytoestrogens, plant-derived nonsteroidal estrogens found in high abundance in most soy food products, have been studied for their potential beneficial effects against hormone-dependent cancers and age-related diseases. However, little is known about the influence of phytoestrogens on the brain or behavior. This brief review describes mainly our own studies in ...

BACKGROUND: Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperfiltration, hyperinsulinemia, glomerular hypertrophy, and ultimately glomerular injury and renal failure are associated with obesity in the Zucker rat. Evidence from other laboratories suggests that soy protein might offer renal protection. METHODS: At five weeks of age obese rats were placed on diets containing either soy or ...

Although trans fatty acids are known to influence essential fatty acid (EFA) metabolism and serum levels of lipids and lipoproteins, little is known about their effects on the metabolism of mammary glands (MGs) during lactation. In this study, 5 groups of lactating Wistar rats were fed semisynthetic diets containing 7% ...

Fourteen premenopausal women participated in a randomized, crossover controlled feeding study of three diets, each two menstrual cycles long. We compared a high saturated fat Western diet (control diet) with two other diets: the control diet plus soy protein (soy diet) and the control diet with polyunsaturated fat (PUFA diet) ...

In mice fed a diet supplemented with red clover isoflavones the prostatic epithelium displays a significant increase in the production of estrogen receptor beta and the adhesion protein E-cadherin but a decrease in transforming growth factor beta1. These proteins are estrogenically-induced markers of proliferation, maintenance of histological architecture, preservation of ...

Several studies have suggested that soybean intake is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer. However, the mechanism of prostate cancer prevention by soybeans remains unclear. Because prostate cancer is reported to have an association with an increased level of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and soybean isoflavones are known to inhibit ...

A two-stage random telephone/mail survey was conducted during the last quarter of 1998 among Adelaide residents to determine consumers' use of soy bread and other soy products and their health expectations of soy products. One in five (21%) of 1477 telephone subscribers usually consumed soy bread and related soy products. ...

Supplementation of soy (full fat and defatted) and barley flours to wheat flour at 51 10, 15 and 20% levels were carried out to see their effect on physico-chemical and nutritional properties of blends for bread making. The gluten content and sedimentation value of flour blends decreased and water absorption ...

Supplementation of wheat flour with soy flour (full fat and defatted) at 5, 10, 15 and 20% levels was carried out to test the effect on physico-chemical, sensory, nutritional evaluation and shelf life of breads. Adding 10% of soy flour (full fat and defatted) produced breads with good baking and ...

A hop-based dietary supplement, marketed for natural breast enhancement, was analysed to determine the identity and biological activity of active constituents and potential biological effects in man. Extracts of the dietary supplement were analysed by LC-MS(n) and phytoestrogens identified and quantitated by reference to appropriate standards. Only hop-associated phytoestrogens were ...

OBJECTIVES: To study possible synergistic effects of oats and soy on reducing total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations in human beings and the efficacy and feasibility of including these adjustments to a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet. SUBJECT/SETTING: One hundred twenty-seven postmenopausal women with moderate hypercholesterolemia were ...

BACKGROUND: Replacement of animal protein with soy protein in the diet is associated with decreased cholesterol levels. However, the effects of soy protein diet on endothelial function are not well known. HYPOTHESIS: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of soy protein diet on plasma lipids and ...

BACKGROUND: A previous report using a partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL) model for neuropathic pain in rats demonstrated that consumption of soy-containing diets preoperatively and postoperatively suppressed development of mechanical and heat allodynia, as well as hyperalgesia. The current study examined whether dietary soy suppresses these neuropathic sensory disorders when ...

RATIONALE: Soya foods are rich in isoflavone phytoestrogens with weak agonist activity at oestrogen receptors. Oestrogen treatment has been found to improve memory in men awaiting gender reassignment and in post-menopausal women. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of supervised high versus low soya diets on attention, memory and frontal lobe ...

A diet containing a high concentration of soy isoflavone was administered to laying hens and the contents of the isoflavones transferred to the plasma and egg yolk were measured. A method for quantitatively measuring the concentration of isoflavone in the yolk was first established, before a high concentration of soy ...

Naturally occurring estrogen-like molecules in plants (phytoestrogens), present via soy, in animal diets can alter morphology and physiology in rodents. Phytoestrogens have the ability to bind estrogen receptors and exert many of the biological responses evoked by physiological estrogens. This study characterized the effects of dietary phytoestrogens on the expression ...

Naturally occurring estrogen-like molecules in plants (phytoestrogens), present via soy, in animal diets, exert many of the biological responses evoked by physiological estrogens. This study characterized the effects of dietary phytoestrogens on the expression of body weight, consummatory behavior, and anxiety (as expressed in the elevated plus-maze). Phytoestrogens produced anxiolytic ...

Latent prostate tumors are commonly found with similar frequency in many countries and ethnic groups. In contrast, aggressive prostate cancer (PC) is significantly less prevalent among Asian men, where the intake of soy products is very high. High consumption of foods containing soy results in high plasma, urine, and prostatic ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of dietary inclusion of soy foods on clinical markers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and osteoporosis in normal postmenopausal women. DESIGN: This was a single open-group prospective clinical intervention. Forty-two normal postmenopausal women consumed three daily servings for 12 consecutive weeks of whole soy foods containing ...

Nutritional factors, especially phytoestrogens, have been extensively studied for their potential beneficial effects against hormone-dependent and age-related diseases. The present study describes the short-term effects of dietary phytoestrogens on regulatory behaviors (food/water intake, locomotor activity and body weight), prostate weight, prostate 5alpha-reductase enzyme activity, reproductive hormone levels, and testicular steroidogenic ...

Soy protein favorably alters serum lipids and lipoproteins in hypercholesterolemic individuals, thereby reducing cardiovascular disease risk. The primary purpose was to determine the effect of soy protein (40 g/d) on circulating lipids and lipoproteins or coagulation and fibrinolytic factors in normocholesterolemic and mildly hypercholesterolemic perimenopausal women. We also determined the ...

OBJECTIVE: Results of recent clinical trials indicate that mammalian estrogens may be less effective in reducing coronary heart disease risk than once thought. This study was designed to determine whether mammalian estrogen's coronary artery dilator benefits could be enhanced by adding soy with phytoestrogens. DESIGN: Forty-five atherosclerotic, ovariectomized monkeys were ...

This study tested the hypothesis that dietary soy would attenuate the development of hypertension in female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Female SHR and control Wistar-Kyoto rats were obtained at 4 wk of age, randomly assigned to either an ovariectomized (OVX) group or a sham-operated group, and placed on a soy ...

Inflammation of the prostate can be induced experimentally in rats by the subcutaneous administration of estrogen. However, it is usually achieved at the price of some alteration in the sex steroid hormone balance and morphological changes in the prostate. In this study, a soy-extracted isoflavone mixture with weak estrogenic activity ...

Soy intakes have been associated with reduced rates of breast cancer in some Asian populations. The isoflavones daidzein and genistein and other components of soybeans may modulate endocrine function and lead to beneficial health effects. This study determined the effects of a soy diet containing minimum amounts of isoflavones on ...

The effects of isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) on endometrial carcinogenesis in mice were investigated in two experiments. In the short-term experiment (2 weeks), single subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of genistein [1 mg / 30 g body weight (b.w.)] significantly decreased the levels of estradiol-17beta (E(2)) (5 ppm in diet)-induced expression of ...

We investigated the effects of a buckwheat protein product (BWP), soy protein isolate (SPI) and casein on the plasma cholesterol level and fecal steroid excretion in rats fed on a cholesterol-free diet. The consumption of BWP suppressed plasma cholesterol by enhancing the fecal excretion of both neutral and acidic steroids. ...