Genistein: Dual Role in Women’s Health

Advanced research in recent years has revealed the important role of nutrients in the protection of women’s health and in the prevention of women’s diseases. Genistein is a phytoestrogen that belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones, which structurally resemble endogenous estrogen. Genis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNutrients Vol. 13; no. 9; p. 3048
Main Authors Yu, Linda, Rios, Eddy, Castro, Lysandra, Liu, Jingli, Yan, Yitang, Dixon, Darlene
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 30.08.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Bacteria
Biological activity
Breastfeeding & lactation
Chemical compounds
Diet
dose-dependent
dual role
Enzymes
Epidemiology
Estrogens
Food
Genistein
Geographical distribution
In vivo methods and tests
Isoflavones
Metabolism
Metabolites
Nutrients
Pharmacology
Plasma
Prevention
Review
Soy products
soya products
Soybeans
Veganism
Vegetarianism
Womens health
United States > US
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Summary:Advanced research in recent years has revealed the important role of nutrients in the protection of women’s health and in the prevention of women’s diseases. Genistein is a phytoestrogen that belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones, which structurally resemble endogenous estrogen. Genistein is most often consumed by humans via soybeans or soya products and is, as an auxiliary medicinal, used to treat women’s diseases. In this review, we focused on analyzing the geographic distribution of soybean and soya product consumption, global serum concentrations of genistein, and its metabolism and bioactivity. We also explored genistein’s dual effects in women’s health through gathering, evaluating, and summarizing evidence from current in vivo and in vitro studies, clinical observations, and epidemiological surveys. The dose-dependent effects of genistein, especially when considering its metabolites and factors that vary by individuals, indicate that consumption of genistein may contribute to beneficial effects in women’s health and disease prevention and treatment. However, consumption and exposure levels are nuanced because adverse effects have been observed at lower concentrations in in vitro models. Therefore, this points to the duplicity of genistein as a possible therapeutic agent in some instances and as an endocrine disruptor in others.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu13093048