Effects of the phytoestrogen genistein on hot flushes, endometrium, and vaginal epithelium in postmenopausal women

Abstract

The phytoestrogen genistein has been shown to be effective on vasomotor symptoms without an adverse effect on the endometrium and vagina, but after the first year, there was no further improvement in the decrease in hot flushes.

Soy consumption for reduction of menopausal symptoms

“…This study reported that hot flash symptoms were significantly reduced by half in the isoflavone group, while no change occurred in the placebo group (Cheng et al, 2007). A second randomized, placebocontrolled trial was recently performed over a 12-month period in 247 Italian women who reported at least four hot flashes/day at baseline (D'Anna et al, 2007). Although there was no change in hot flash number or severity in the placebo group, hot flashes were reduced by 57 % and severity was reduced by 38 % in the women who consumed 54 mg genistein daily (D'Anna et al, 2007).…”

“…A second randomized, placebocontrolled trial was recently performed over a 12-month period in 247 Italian women who reported at least four hot flashes/day at baseline (D'Anna et al, 2007). Although there was no change in hot flash number or severity in the placebo group, hot flashes were reduced by 57 % and severity was reduced by 38 % in the women who consumed 54 mg genistein daily (D'Anna et al, 2007). A third randomized controlled crossover trial was performed over an eight week period in the United States in 60 postmenopausal women.…”

Complementary and Alternative Approaches to Menopause

“…18 An often-cited genistein trial was done to examine its effects on bone and cardiovascular risks. 26 The overall study randomized 389 participants, and then a subset of subjects (125 genistein/122 placebo) was segregated from the larger study after randomization. After 12 months, in this subset, researchers noted a 56.4% reduction in the mean number of hot flushes per day.…”

Genistein effects on quantitative ultrasound parameters and bone mineral density in osteopenic postmenopausal women

“…In both trials, isolated genistein administration exhibited a highly standardized bioavailability and pharmacokinetic behavior. Other studies of pure genistein from our research group have focused on cardiovascular outcomes or menopausal symptoms rather than on bone health [23][24][25][26]. To date, no data exist in literature on the effects of genistein on quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters.…”