IntroductionThe health benefits of soy-based foods are largely attributed to isoflavones. Daidzin, genistin, daizein (the aglycone of daidzin), and genistein (the aglycone of genistin) are the most common isoflavones found in soy products. Human gastrointestinal bacteria play important roles in isoflavone metabolism (Bowey et al., 2003;Chang et al., 1995). S-equol is a metabolite of daidzein that is produced by the intestinal microbiota (Bowey et al., 2003). S-equol has higher affinity than daidzein when competing with 3 H-estradiol for binding to the estrogen receptor (ER) (Sathyamoorthy et al., 1997). A case-control study involving residents in Japan and Korea demonstrated that the ability to produce S-equol is closely related to a lower prevalence of prostate cancer (Akaza et al., 2004). A long-term, randomized controlled trial that characterized postmenopausal women by their equol-producing status showed lumbar spine BMD (bone mineral density) was better after 2 years in equol producers compared with non-equol producers (LydekingOlsen et al., 2004). Natural S-equol might play a role in glycemic control and in the prevention of cardiovascular disease by its abilities to lower LDL-C levels and CAVI scores in overweight or obese individuals (Usui et al., 2013). Thus, S-equol is an important bacterial metabolite in the gut. S-equol production by the microbiota seems to contribute to host health. However, interindividual variations in S-equol production have been identified.Only 30% to 50% of humans are equol producers (Cassidy et al., 2006;Song et al., 2006). The isoflavones in modest amounts of ingested soy protein are biotransformed by intestinal microflora, are absorbed, and undergo enterohepatic recycling (Setchell, 1998).It has been reported that estrogens are conjugated with glucuronic and/or sulfuric acid in the liver prior to excretion in urine or bile.Deconjugation of estrogen conjugates in the gut increases the enterohepatic circulation of the steroids and has important implications for their bioavailability and hormonal activity (Rowland et al., 1999). More than 99% of biliary estrogens are conjugated. Having entered the gut, about 80% are reabsorbed mainly as free steroids after extensive hydrolysis by enzymes of mainly bacterial origin (Hämäläinen et al., 1987). It has been demonstrated that S-equol excretion, but not total isoflavone excretion, correlates positively with the 2-OH E(1):16alpha-OH E(1) ratio, suggesting that the colonic bacterial profile associated with S-equol production may be related with estrogen metabolism, and may therefore influence breast cancer risk. Estimation of
Original paperIntestinal Bacterium TM-30: an S-equol-producing Bacterium Isolated from
Human Feces is Involved in Estrogen Metabolism in vitroMotoi Tamura S-equol production and/or enumeration of the S-equol-producing bacteria may be a biomarker of host health. S-equol-producing bacteria have been previously isolated from human feces (Wang et al., 2005;Jin et al., 2010;Matthies et al., 2009;Yokoyama et al., 2011;T...