PHYTOESTROGEN CONTENT OF FOODS - A COMPENDIUM OF LITERATURE VALUES

Plant compounds with estrogenic activity may play a role in cancer pre vention, moderation of menopausal symptoms, and other health effects. To facilitate research on these possible actions, the literature was r eviewed for quantitative data on the levels of known phytoestrogens (d aidzein, genistein, coumestrol, formononetin, and biochanin A) in food plants. For comparative purposes, all phytoestrogen levels were recal culated on a wet weight basis. Details on analytic procedures are give n as well. High-performance liquid chromatography was the method most often used to analyze these compounds in foods. Most significant sourc es of isoflavone and coumestan phytoestrogens include soybeans, soy fl our, soy flakes, isolated soy protein, traditional soy foods such as t ofu and soy drinks, second-generation soy foods, sprouts, and other le gumes. Finally, medians among reported values of phytoestrogen content are provided for some of the most commonly eaten foods with quantitat ive data available. These may be used to calculate dietary intake of d aidzein, genistein, coumestrol, formononetin, and biochanin A.