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Clinical Trial
. 2005 Mar;12(2):186-92.
doi: 10.1097/00042192-200512020-00013.

Effects of the phytoestrogen genistein on cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women

Alessandra Crisafulli  1 , Domenica Altavilla, Herbert Marini, Alessandra Bitto, Domenico Cucinotta, Nicola Frisina, Francesco Corrado, Rosario D'Anna, Giovanni Squadrito, Elena B Adamo, Rolando Marini, Adolfo Romeo, Francesco Cancellieri, Michele Buemi, Francesco Squadrito
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Effects of the phytoestrogen genistein on cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women

Alessandra Crisafulli et al. Menopause. 2005 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: The phytoestrogen genistein has been shown to be the most efficacious in clinical and experimental studies. We studied whether genistein treatment affects some cardiovascular risk markers in postmenopausal women.

Design: Sixty healthy postmenopausal women, who were 52 to 60 years of age, were enrolled in a 6-month double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study. After a 4-week stabilization on a standard fat-reduced diet, participants were randomly assigned to receive either genistein (n = 30; 54 mg/d) or placebo (n = 30). At baseline and after a 6-month treatment, we measured fasting glucose, insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), osteoprotegerin (OPG), fibrinogen, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).

Results: By comparison with placebo, genistein treatment decreased significantly fasting glucose (genistein = -8.7 +/- 2.3%; placebo = 3.2 +/- 2.3%; P < 0.001), fasting insulin (genistein = -12 +/- 3.33%; placebo = 36 +/- 3.29%; P < 0.001), and HOMA-IR (genistein = -14 +/- 5.8%; placebo = 42 +/- 0.6%; P < 0.001). After genistein-treatment, fibrinogen decreased (genistein = 3.18 +/- 0.12 g/L; placebo = 3.83 +/- 0.04 g/L; P < 0.001) with respect to placebo. In the genistein group, serum OPG was lower (-2 +/- 0.3%) than in placebo (9 +/- 1.5%; P < 0.001), and serum SHBG was higher (63 +/- 3.8 nmol/L) compared with placebo (53 +/- 2.9 nmol/L; P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Our study suggests that genistein may have a favorable effect on some cardiovascular markers.

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