Total phytoestrogens

Total phytoestrogens is the siun up of isoflavones, hgnans, and coumestan. 

In ovariectomized sheep, feeding with 3.5 kg daily of red clover silage for 14 days as the sole source of food (81-95 mg/ kg daily total phytoestrogens) resulted in increased plasma concentrations of T3 and T4 and increased thyroid follicle size as compared to sheep fed hay (Made] et al. 2002). 

Reinli and Block (1996) developed a compendium of literature values with 36 references for phytoestrogens (coumestrol, daidzein, genistein, biochanin A and formononetin) in foods. They also reported the relative potency of these phytoestrogen and equol (metabolites found in urine) in vitro and in vivo. Similar to the USDA-ISU database, this database reported total daidzein and genistein, which were estimated by the hydrolysis method or by normalizing the molecular weight differences of... 

Another case-control study, conducted in Jamaica, consisted of 175 newly diagnosed prostate cancer cases and 194 controls. The researchers evaluated the relationship of urinary phytoestrogens with total cancer and tumor grade. ENL was measured from spot urine samples. Higher concentrations of ENL were positively associated with both total prostate cancer (OR 1.85 95% Cl 1.01—3.44 p = 0.027) and high-grade disease (OR 2.46 95% Cl 1.11-5.46 p = 0.023). 

Isoflavones are flavonoids commonly called as phytoestrogens and one of the most extensively investigated polyphenols. These are present in soybeans, soybean products, and other pulses, widely consumed in Asian and Southeast Asian coim-tries. Isoflavones have attracted attention mainly due to their role in the ameliora-ti(Mi of postmenopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and osteoporosis [52,58,59]. The other beneficial and important biological properties have been established which are related to effects on cardiovascular diseases, cognitive functions, and breast and prostate cancers. These conclusions were based on wide-ranging studies and parameters which showed positive effects, for example, reduction of hot flushes, the excretion of Ixme resorption markers, increase in bone mineral density, the lower LDL and total cholesterol, reduction in colon cancer, and modulation of immune function [60, 61]. Chemical structures of some important molecules of these phytochemical classes are represented in Fig. 82.3. 

Ito, F. Iwasaki, M. Watanabe, T. Ishikawa, T. Hignchi, Y. 2005. The first total synthesis of kwakhurin, a characteristic component of a rejuvenating plant, kwao keur Toward an efficient synthetic route to phytoestrogenic isoflavones. Org. Biomol. Chem. 3 674-681. 

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