Soybean isoflavones: Efficacy of extraction conditions and effect of food type on extractability

Soy isoflavones are phytochemicals of intense interest due to their association with a variety of health protective effects. Analytical techniques to identify and quantify these compounds vary in accuracy, reproducibility and sensitivity. In this study, solvent extraction efficiencies, and the effect of replicate extractions, and sonication on the isoflavone content of two soy products (high and low protein content) were evaluated. The later study was conducted to determine the effect of protein content on isoflavone extractability. Repeated extractions (up to five sequential extractions) of soy meal sample increased the total concentration of isoflavones by 74%, 69% and 65%, using acetonitrile-HCl, methanol and ethanol. The increment for soy protein isolate was 147%, 103% and 105%, respectively. Sonication of both samples in the three solvents for 15 min extracted as much isoflavones as the total of the five sequential extractions. These results strongly indicates that, a one step extraction without sonication can markedly under-estimate the concentration of isoflavones in foods, and that protein content of foods may have a marked impact on isoflavone extractability.