Isoflavone content of Italian soy food products and daily intakes of some specific classes of consumers

In Western countries food products containing soybean proteins are primarily directed to some specific classes of consumers, in particular vegetarians, milk-intolerant or gluten-intolerant subjects, and hypercholesterolemic patients. The consumption of these products is associated with the presence of isoflavones, which recently have become a very controversial issue because their beneficial properties are counterbalanced by some undesirable effects. Taking into account that information on the average isoflavone daily intake in European countries and especially in Italy is very scarce, we decided to quantify the isoflavones in some products for different classes of consumers, with the objective of evaluating their possible exposition. The total isoflavone contents were in the range 21-803 mu g/g(d.w.) and were particularly high in imitation dairy and meat products. Infant formulas contained 121-427 mu g/gd.w., whereas the isoflavone contents in gluten-free products were in the range 77-220 mu g/g(d.w.). Only in the case of infants and children, the daily intake may overcome the recommended limit introduced by the Italian Health Authority for isoflavone supplements.