Isoflavone quantitation in soymilk: Genistein content and its biological effect

Abstract

Soy derivatives contain isoflavones with structural similarity to estrogen hormones known as phytoestrogens. The levels of isoflavones in these foods are quite variable and often unknown. The objective of this work was to develop and validate a methodology for the quantification of isoflavone genistein in soymilk by liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector. After quantifying the levels of genistein in soymilk, the behavioral effects of daily administration of soymilk supplemented or not with glyphosate (50 or 100 mg/kg) throughout the pre-pubertal period in male rats were evaluated. The method developed is selective, sensitive, specific, and precise for the quantification of genistein with a total execution time of 20 min. Behavioral test highlights changes in anxiety pattern after chronic prepubertal exposure to soymilk containing 26.46 μg/mL genistein.

Keywords

• hplc
• soymilk
• isoflavones
• phytoestrogens
• anxiety
• genistein