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Lee Swanson Research Update
Soy Isoflavone Genistein May Ease Breathing in Asthmatics
January 2008
Four weeks of supplementation with genistein, an isoflavone from soy, may suppress the inflammatory process and ease breathing and explain previous reports linking the isoflavone to reduced asthma severity, a pilot study conducted at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago suggests.
The production of inflammatory compounds by white blood cells (eosinophil LTC4) involved in asthma was reduced by 33% in 13 asthmatic subjects reports the study, published in the journal Clinical & Experimental Allergy.
The study adds to a small but growing body of data supporting the role of isoflavones in respiratory health. Indeed, epidemiologic studies have linked high dietary genistein consumption with improved airflow in the lungs of asthmatics.
The researchers focused their attention on the production of the inflammatory leukotriene C4 (LTC4) from white blood cells (eosinophils) among the subjects, assigned to receive a daily soy supplement (100 mg NovaSoy). The supplement contained 29 mg of genistein, 28 mg of daidzein and eight mg of glycitein as aglycone.
Researchers report that production of eosinophil LTC4 was decreased by 33% at the end of the supplementation period. Moreover, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) was also decreased by 17%. FENO reflected the degree of inflammation in the airways.
Clinical & Experimental Allergy 38(1):103-112, 2008
