Biochemistry and use of soybean isoflavones in functional food development

Abstract

Soybeans and their food products exist in the market in various forms, ranging from crude oils and bean meals to nutritious products (e.g. soy milk powers). With the availability of technologies for mass production of soy products and for enrichment of soy components (e.g. phospholipids, saponins, isoflavones, oligosaccharides and edible fiber), the nutritional values of soy products have been enhanced remarkably, offering the potential for functional food development. Among different bioactive components in soybeans, one important component is isoflavones, which have been widely exploited for health implications. While there are studies supporting the health benefits of isoflavones, concerns on adverse effects have been raised in the literature. The objective of this article is to review the recent understanding of the biological activities, adverse effects, and use of isoflavones in functional food development.

Keywords:

• Soybeans
• phytochemicals
• isoflavones
• functional food
• natural product

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Yau-Foon Tsui and Guoxing Deng for helpful comments and suggestions during the writing of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (JCYJ20170302144812937 and JCYJ20170818102436104) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2018A030310485).