Pasta, enriched with soy isoflavones in the aglycone form, can
effectively reduce blood levels of total and LDL cholesterol by about
eight per cent, new research from Italy has reported. The study,
published in the October issue of the Journal of Nutrition, has
implications for using soy isoflavones as functional ingredients for
heart healthy foods, with the manufacturing process key to the natural
enrichment of the pasta with isoflavone aglycons. During fermentation
isoflavones change from the glucoside form to the aglycone form, said to
be more bioavailable. A study by Yakult last year (The Journal of
Nutrition, Vol. 136, pp. 2291-2296) stated that it made sense that
aglycones are more bioavailable since they are smaller molecules and are
more hydrophobic, and so do not dissolve as easily in water and thus
rapidly excreted. «The aim of this study was to compare a novel soy germ
pasta, naturally enriched in isoflavone aglycons as a result of the
manufacturing process, with conventional pasta for effects on serum
lipids and other cardiovascular risk markers.» After eight weeks,
Clerici and co-workers report that blood levels of isoflavones were 222
nanomoles per litre. Consumption of the aglycone-enriched pasta led to
reduction of total and LDL cholesterol levels in the blood of 7.3 and
8.6 per cent from baseline, respectively. These reductions were
equivalent to reductions of 0.47 and 0.36 millimoles more than amongst
people consuming conventional pasta. The soy pasta was also found to
have benefits for arterial stiffness and C-reactive protein levels
(CRP), a protein produced in the liver and is a known marker for
inflammation. Increased levels of CRP are a good predictor for the onset
of both type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Category: Productos
Source: NutraIngredients