Milk and dairy products are important sources of nutrients in the human diet because they contain a number of essential substances and other biologically active components. Many of these substances can be modified, and thus offer opportunities to use milk and dairy products as functional food. Isoflavones are particularly important in human nutrition due to their diverse pharmacological and antioxidant properties. The clinical effectiveness of isoflavone-rich products is believed to be dependent on their ability to metabolize daidzein to equol, which may directly exert cancer preventive effects. However, only approximately 30-40% of humans are able to produce equol, while animals, in general, produce equol. Equol is the predominant product of bacterial metabolism of isoflavones and can be found in various amounts in some food of animal origin, especially in milk. Therefore, milk and dairy products can be considered to be sources of equol for humans who are not able to produce this metabolite. When the content of isoflavones in milk is to be modified, two groups of factors should be considered, i.e., dietary factors that include the source of isoflavones and the processing effects on feedstuffs and animal factors that include the intake of isoflavones, ruminal and postruminal changes, and the health and physiological status of animals. The approximate content of isoflavones in milk can be predicted using carry-over rates for different dietary sources or using a formula that describes the relationship between equol concentration in milk and formononetin intake. Processing and storage can affect the content and profile of isoflavones in milk and dairy products.

• Klíčová slova
• carry-over, cows, dairy, health, isoflavone, metabolism,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH

Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring nonsteroidal phenolic plant compounds that, due to their molecular structure and size, resemble vertebrate steroids estrogens. This review is focused on plant flavonoids isoflavones, which are ranked among the most estrogenic compounds. The main dietary sources of isoflavones for humans are soybean and soybean products, which contain mainly daidzein and genistein. When they are consumed, they exert estrogenic and/or antiestrogenic effects. Isoflavones are considered chemoprotective and can be used as an alternative therapy for a wide range of hormonal disorders, including several cancer types, namely breast cancer and prostate cancer, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, or menopausal symptoms. On the other hand, isoflavones may also be considered endocrine disruptors with possible negative influences on the state of health in a certain part of the population or on the environment. This review deals with isoflavone classification, structure, and occurrence, with their metabolism, biological, and health effects in humans and animals, and with their utilization and potential risks.

• Klíčová slova
• biochanin A, daidzein, equol, formononetin, genistein, glycitein, isoflavones, phytoestrogens,
• MeSH
• equol chemie   klasifikace   metabolismus   MeSH
• fytoestrogeny chemie   klasifikace   metabolismus   MeSH
• genistein chemie   klasifikace   metabolismus   MeSH
• isoflavony chemie   klasifikace   metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• biochanin A MeSH Prohlížeč
• daidzein MeSH Prohlížeč
• equol MeSH
• formononetin MeSH Prohlížeč
• fytoestrogeny MeSH
• genistein MeSH
• glycitein MeSH Prohlížeč
• isoflavony MeSH