Cited by 416Phytoestrogen effects and researchGut microbiota and healthPhytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities

Equol: a bacterial metabolite from the daidzein isoflavone and its presumed beneficial health effects

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Mayo, Baltasar, Vázquez, Lucía, Flórez, Ana Belén·2019·Nutrients

Abstract

Epidemiological data suggest that regular intake of isoflavones from soy reduces the incidence of estrogen-dependent and aging-associated disorders, such as menopause symptoms in women, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Equol, produced from daidzein, is the isoflavone-derived metabolite with the greatest estrogenic and antioxidant activity. Consequently, equol has been endorsed as having many beneficial effects on human health. The conversion of daidzein into equol takes place in the intestine via the action of reductase enzymes belonging to incompletely characterized members of the gut microbiota. While all animal species analyzed so far produce equol, only between one third and one half of human subjects (depending on the community) are able to do so, ostensibly those that harbor equol-producing microbes. Conceivably, these subjects might be the only ones who can fully benefit from soy or isoflavone consumption. This review summarizes current knowledge on the microorganisms involved in, the genetic background to, and the biochemical pathways of, equol biosynthesis. It also outlines the results of recent clinical trials and meta-analyses on the effects of equol on different areas of human health and discusses briefly its presumptive mode of action.

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  • Upwards of half of the population lack the microbiota composition to produce equol.

    “A further example is the isoflavone metabolite equol, which has considerable estrogenic properties, but upwards of half of the population lack the microbiota composition to produce it (509).”

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Authors
Mayo, B., Vázquez, L., & Flórez, A. B.
Affiliations
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
Corresponding author
Mayo, Baltasar
Venue
Nutrients
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2019-09-16
Volume
11
Issue
9
Pages
2231
ISSN
2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2972497746
Cited by
416
References
192
Citations by year
2026: 56 · 2025: 55 · 2024: 71 · 2023: 75 · 2022: 74 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 1
FWCI
5.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España (AGL2011-24300-ALI and AGL-2014-57820-R)
  • Gobierno del Principado de Asturias (GRUPIN14-137 and IDI/2018/000114)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Phytoestrogen effects and research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
Keywords
equol, daidzein, isoflavones, soybean, gut microbiota, estrogenic activity, antioxidant activity, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer prevention
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Animals, Bacteria, Diet, Health Status, Humans, Isoflavones, Equol

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