Isoflavones in food supplements do not pose a health risk to post-menopausal women, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said in response to an appeal from the German authority.
Post-menopausal women taking supplements of a red clover extract may experience fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, says a new randomised trial from Austria.
The manner in which pre-menstrual and menopausal indications for soy and red clover isoflavones that recently won approval from the European Patent Office can be translated into marketing messages, is being debated among soy players.
Soy isoflavones in the aglycone form may reduce cholesterol, improve antioxidative properties of the liver, and prevent degeneration of the vaginal wall, suggests a new study with rats.
Increased intake of soy isoflavones significantly reduced the risk
of prostate cancer amongst Japanese men by as much as 50 per cent,
says a new study.
Supplementation of soy isoflavones to ease the symptoms of the
menopause like hot flushes does have an effect, according to a
meta-analysis from Australian researchers.
Increasing levels of daidzein, an isoflavone found in soy, have
been linked to significant improvements in cholesterol levels and
could boost heart health, says a new study.
The body's ability to absorb and benefit from soy isoflavones is
greater when taken from juice but not cookies, results that have
implications for using soy isoflavones as functional ingredients.
Japan's food safety authorities have agreed on a safe daily intake
for soy isoflavones, after applications to register the supplements
as food for specified health use (FOSHU).
Sales of Novogen's red clover supplements have been boosted by more
targeted advertising and increased distribution in three key
markets, said the firm yesterday.
ADM Natural Health and Nutrition has expanded its range of soya
isoflavone concentrates for use in food and food supplements.
Novasoy 700 has a minimum 70 per cent isoflavone content and
Novasoy 200 is a 20 per cent isoflavone concentrate.
ADM, a leading supplier of health ingredients, will exhibit a range
of products derived from natural sources at the forthcoming Health
Ingredients Europe exhibition in Paris from 17-19 September 2002.
Acatris, the Dutch health ingredients company, has called for
greater harmonisation of the methods used to test soy isoflavones
to help consumers avoid "the proverbial problem of comparing
apples to oranges rather than apples...
Archer Daniels Midland has been awarded its fifth and sixth patents
for the use of concentrated isoflavones in combination with other
plant-derived phytochemicals.