Effects of Administering the Soybean Isoflavone Genistein on Alkaline Phosphatase Levels During Orthodontic Tooth Movement in Young and Old Rabbits

The goal of this study was to investigate differences in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in young and old rabbits after administering the soybean isoflavone genistein during orthodontic tooth movement. Twelve rabbits were used and assigned to four groups (n = 3); OG (old rabbits), OGS (old rabbits + soybean), YG (young rabbits), and YGS (young rabbits + soybean). The rabbit mandibulary incisors were distalised using a nickel-titanium open coil spring (50 g force). Genistein was administered from the initial orthodontic force delivery until day 21, at a dose of 1.2 mg/kg BW once a day. ALP levels (U/mg) were measured on days 1, 7, 14, 21 after orthodontic force delivery using a UV-Vis 6300 spectrophotometer at a 405 nm wavelength. The results were analysed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) test (p < 0.05). The ALP levels between the young and old age groups were significantly different. ALP levels were highest in the YGS group, and significantly lowest in the OG group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the ALP level of the OGS group was significantly higher than that in the OG group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, daily consumption of soybean isoflavone genistein could enhance ALP levels during orthodontic tooth movement, particularly in older rabbits.

Effects of Soybean Isoflavone and Astragalus Polysaccharide Mixture on Colostrum Components, Serum Antioxidant, Immune and Hormone Levels of Lactating Sows

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of soybean isoflavone (SI) and astragalus polysaccharide (APS) mixture on the colostrum components, serum antioxidant, immune and hormone levels of lactating sows. A total of 72 healthy Yorkshire × Landrace lactating sows, were randomly divided into four treatments with six replicates and three lactating sows for each replicate. The control group was fed the basal diet, while the experimental groups were fed the basal diet with 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg SI and APS mixture in the form of powder, respectively. Compared with the control group, (a) the total lactation yield of the 200 mg/kg group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) at 21 days, (b) there was no significant difference in colostrum composition, (c) TG, CHO and MDA content in each treatment group were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), (d) IgA, GH, IGF-1, TNF-α and SOD contents in the 200 mg/kg group were significantly increased (p < 0.05). The SI and APS mixture could improve the average daily feed intake, lactation yield, serum antioxidant activities, immune function, and hormone levels of lactating sows, and the optimum dosage in this study was 200 mg/kg.

Effect of Kefir on Soybean Isoflavone Aglycone Content in Soymilk Kefir

Kefir is a traditional fermented milk originating in the Caucasus area and parts of Eastern Europe. In this study, the kefir culture, which is modified upon the addition of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cells, specifically for soymilk kefir fermentation with the highest capacity of isoflavone biotransformation, was successfully produced, and the metagenomics composition of soymilk or milk fermented using these kefir cultures was investigated. The metagenome analysis showed that the microbiota of kefir in M-K (milk inoculated with kefir), SM-K (equal volumes of soymilk and milk inoculated with kefir), and S-K (pure milk inoculated with kefir) were related to the addition of soymilk or not. Furthermore, the HPLC chromatogram revealed that Guixia 2 (Guangzhou, China) may be a good source of soymilk kefir fermentation due to its high isoflavone aglycone content (90.23 ± 1.26 μg/g in daidzein, 68.20 ± 0.74 μg/g in genistein). Importantly, the starter culture created by adding 1.5 g probiotics (Biostime®, Guangzhou, China) to Chinese kefir showed a significant increase in the levels of isoflavone aglycones (72.07 ± 0.53 μg/g in isoflavone aglycones). These results provided insight into understanding the suitable soybean cultivar and starter cultures, which exhibit promising results of isoflavone biotransformation and flavor promotion during soymilk kefir fermentation.