Soy and Frequent Dairy Consumption with Subsequent Equol Production Reveals Decreased Gut Health in a Cohort of Healthy Puerto Rican Women

Mercedes Y. Lacourt-Ventura, Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas, Delmarie Rivera-Rodríguez, Raysa Rosario-Acevedo, Christine Miranda, Gerónimo Maldonado-Martínez, Johanna Maysonet, Darlene Vargas, Yelitza Ruiz, Robert Hunter-Mellado, Luis A. Cubano, Suranganie Dharmawardhane, Johanna W. Lampe, Abel Baerga-Ortiz, Filipa Godoy-Vitorino and Michelle M. Martínez-Montemayor
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Mercedes Y. Lacourt-Ventura: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas: Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00921, Puerto Rico
Delmarie Rivera-Rodríguez: Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón 00959, Puerto Rico
Raysa Rosario-Acevedo: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Christine Miranda: Retrovirus Research Center, Internal Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Gerónimo Maldonado-Martínez: Retrovirus Research Center, Internal Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Johanna Maysonet: Retrovirus Research Center, Internal Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Darlene Vargas: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Yelitza Ruiz: Retrovirus Research Center, Internal Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Robert Hunter-Mellado: Retrovirus Research Center, Internal Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Luis A. Cubano: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico
Suranganie Dharmawardhane: Department of Biochemistry, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00921, Puerto Rico
Johanna W. Lampe: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
Abel Baerga-Ortiz: Department of Biochemistry, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00921, Puerto Rico
Filipa Godoy-Vitorino: Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00921, Puerto Rico
Michelle M. Martínez-Montemayor: Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón 00956, Puerto Rico

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: The U.S. Hispanic female population has one of the highest breast cancer (BC) incidence and mortality rates, while BC is the leading cause of cancer death in Puerto Rican women. Certain foods may predispose to carcinogenesis. Our previous studies indicate that consuming combined soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) promotes tumor metastasis possibly through increased protein synthesis activated by equol, a secondary dietary metabolite. Equol is a bacterial metabolite produced in about 20–60% of the population that harbor and exhibit specific gut microbiota capable of producing it from daidzein. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of equol production in Puerto Rican women and identify the equol producing microbiota in this understudied population. Herein, we conducted a cross-sectional characterization of equol production in a clinically based sample of eighty healthy 25–50 year old Puerto Rican women. Urine samples were collected and evaluated by GCMS for the presence of soy isoflavones and metabolites to determine the ratio of equol producers to equol non-producers. Furthermore, fecal samples were collected for gut microbiota characterization on a subset of women using next generation sequencing (NGS). We report that 25% of the participants were classified as equol producers. Importantly, the gut microbiota from equol non-producers demonstrated a higher diversity. Our results suggest that healthy women with soy and high dairy consumption with subsequent equol production may result in gut dysbiosis by having reduced quantities (diversity) of healthy bacterial biomarkers, which might be associated to increased diseased outcomes (e.g., cancer, and other diseases).

Keywords: equol; soy; dairy; gut microbiota; Puerto Rican women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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