薬理と治療

Abstract

Objectives　Equol, a metabolite of a soybean isoflavone daidzein, is produced by intestinal bacteria and has various effects on the health of menopausal women. Approximately half of the Japanese population can produce equol in the intestine, but the other half cannot. If equol is not produced in the body people does not have the benefits of it even soy foods are ingested. This study investigated a potential of future health prediction by which a cross-sectional observation between women who can and cannot produce equol in members of a health insurance society. Methods　Those who had a health checkup result for the last 2-3 years were subjected to a questionnaire survey and determination of equol productivity. A urine sample with an equol concentration of 1.0μM or more was detected as an equol producer（EQL-P）, and an equol concentration of less than 1.0μM was regarded as a non-producer（EQL-N）investigated. Results　In postmenopausal womenʼs analysis, EQL-P had less severe menopausal symptoms than EQL-N（P＝0.020）. Number of participants who has“facial hot”（P＝0.030）“, easy to get tired”（P＝0.015）, was significantly lower in EQL-P than EQL-N. Based on the analysis of all subjects（n＝455）, allergic rhinitis（including hay fever）existing person（P＝0.012）, and frequency of headache（P＝0.046）was lower in EQL-P than EQL-N. Conclusions　Those data suggested that the presence or absence of equol-producing ability was considered to provide useful information for predicting the future health of women. （Jpn Pharmacol Ther 2022；50：2157‒65）