title: Effects of short-term fructooligosaccharide intake on equol production in Japanese postmenopausal women consuming soy isoflavone supplements: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent studies suggest that some of the clinical effectiveness of soy or daidzein, which is a type of isoflavone, may be attributed to a person's ability to produce equol from daidzein. Equol, which is a metabolite of one of the major soybean isoflavones called daidzein, is produced in the gastrointestinal tract by certain intestinal microbiota where present. Habitual dietary patterns may alter the intestinal bacterial profile, and influence the metabolism of isoflavones and the production of equol. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) have a prebiotic activity as well as being a dietary fibre. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether FOS supplementation increases equol production in equol producers and stimulates equol production in equol non-producers in Japanese postmenopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A soy challenge was used to assess equol-producer status prior to the start of the study in healthy postmenopausal Japanese women. The study involved 4 separate groups in randomised crossover design. First, subjects were classified as equol producers (n = 25) or non-producers (n = 18), and then they were randomly assigned to the FOS or control group. All subjects received a daily dose of 37 mg isoflavone conjugates in the capsule (21 mg aglycone form) and either FOS (5 g/day) or sucrose as control, in a randomised crossover study design. Equol -production was assessed by testing the serum and urine before and after the 2-week supplementation period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analyses were conducted on 34 subjects completed the study, 21 (61.8%) were classified as equol producers, and 13 (38.2%) as non-producers. Significant differences were observed in the interaction effect of time × equol state after 1 week of intervention (p = 0.006). However there were no effects after 2 weeks of intervention (p = 0.516). Finally, in both equol producers and non-producers, FOS supplementation did not affect the serum equol concentration or the urinary equol to daidzein concentration ratios.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have reported that FOS intervention (5 g/day for 2 weeks) does not significantly modulate the capacity of intestinal microbiota to produce equol in postmenopausal Japanese women, in either equol producers or non-producers in this pilot study. Further larger investigations that explore the roles of specific intestinal microbiota in equol production will enable the establishment of dietary conditions that are required to enhance equol production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Function and Labeling, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8636, Japan. ishimi@nih.go.jp.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tousen
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimira
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishimi
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D060754:Equol / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000652:urine; D007564:Japan; D008875:Middle Aged; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017698:Postmenopause; D056692:Prebiotics; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry*; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007529:Isoflavones; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D056692:Prebiotics; D047071:beta-Glucans; C116580:fructooligosaccharide; C508230:soy isoflavone aglycone; D060754:Equol; C004742:daidzein
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