Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Soybean Isoflavones: An In Vitro Study

ABSTRACT

Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.), one of the top 10 crops produced worldwide, is a significant dietary source of isoflavones. Understanding the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of soy isoflavones (SIs) is important fgor comprehending their various bioactivities in the human body. In vitro approaches can provide valuable insights into the bioavailability of SIs across food matrices and their step-by-step digestive mechanisms. This review focused on evaluating reports that employ in vitro methods to study the bioavailability of SIs, using human-simulated gastrointestinal digestive system models and the Transwell system with Caco-2 cell monolayers. Specifically, this review discusses how the molecular structures of SIs influence their bioaccessibility and bioavailability. The differences in bioaccessibility and bioavailability of SI aglycones and their conjugated SIs indicate that the molecular structure is a critical factor influencing the bioactivities of SIs. This review provides important information for evaluating and understanding the physiological effects of soybean or SI-containing foods.

KEYWORDS:

• Caco-2 cells
• in vitro digestion
• permeability
• stability
• transwell
• uptake

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ms. Hannah Kim (Hanyang University) for carefully editing the manuscript and providing valuable comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET) through the High Value-added Food Technology Development Program, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (322009-04-1-SB010).