title: Nephrocalcinosis formation by soy isoflavones in male rats.
abstract: Isoflavones (IFs), found in the form of both aglycones and glucosides in soybean foods, induce weak estrogenic activities. Although IFs have a number of health benefits, it was previously reported that IFs cause nephrocalcinosis (NC) in the kidney of male Fischer 344 (F344) rats. The present study aims to elucidate the safety of IFs by focusing on IF-induced NC formation in rats. Fermented soybean extract (FSE) containing 420 mg/g isoflavone aglycones was orally administered to male F344 and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for 28 days. FSE induced NC formation in the kidney of F344 rats, but not in SD rats. However, absorption of IFs did not differ between F344 and SD rats. NC formation and its severity of FSE were histologically compared with those of soybean extract (SE) containing 518 mg/g isoflavone glucosides in F344 rats. There were no differences in the number of NC formations and the extent of calcium deposit between FSE and SE groups. To examine the dose effect of FSE on NC formation, doses of 20, 140, or 1000 mg/kg FSE were administered to F344 rats for 90 days. NC formation was observed in the 140 and 1000 mg/kg groups. These results indicated that a high dose of oral administration of IFs induced NC formation depending on the strain of rat.
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Division, Kikkoman Corporation, 399 Noda, Noda City, Chiba 278-0037, Japan. takusato@mail.kikkoman.co.jp
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yamakoshi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Asahi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005285:Fermentation; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009397:Nephrocalcinosis / Q000139:chemically induced*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D007529:Isoflavones; D010936:Plant Extracts