Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Gynecol Endocrinol. 2011 Dec;27(12):1037-42. doi: 10.3109/09513590.2011.588743. Epub 2011 Aug 1.
Isoflavones from red clover and soy plant extracts are used in highly concentrated food supplements as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. Due to their estrogenic activity, isoflavones are a focus of safety concerns about their potential to promote the growth of hormone-dependent cancer cells. In this study, isoflavones and plant extracts were tested for their effect on cell proliferation, apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest. Isoflavones and plant extracts were applied in proliferation assays on 11 human cancer cell lines (representing cancers of the colon, prostate, breast, cervix, liver, pancreas, stomach and ovaries) and a fibroblast line to detect cytotoxic activity. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to detect the induction of apoptosis or cell cycle arrest. Isoflavones and plant extracts significantly reduced the proliferation activity of the treated cancer cell lines. Growth promotion was not observed, but apoptosis or necrosis induction was, as was cell cycle arrest, with genistein as the most potent isoflavone. Isoflavones and plant extracts from soy and red clover, respectively, do not promote the growth of human cancer cells but induce decreased cell proliferation, increased apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. These results indicate that isoflavones can be considered safe compounds.
红三叶草和大豆植物提取物中的异黄酮被用作激素替代疗法的替代品，被高度浓缩在食品补充剂中。由于其雌激素活性，异黄酮是对其促进激素依赖性癌细胞生长的潜在安全性问题的关注焦点。在这项研究中，异黄酮和植物提取物的细胞增殖、细胞凋亡诱导和细胞周期阻滞作用进行了测试。将异黄酮和植物提取物应用于 11 个人类癌细胞系（代表结肠癌、前列腺癌、乳腺癌、宫颈癌、肝癌、胰腺癌、胃癌和卵巢癌）和一个成纤维细胞系的增殖试验中，以检测细胞毒性活性。荧光激活细胞分选用于检测细胞凋亡或细胞周期阻滞的诱导。异黄酮和植物提取物显著降低了处理后的癌细胞系的增殖活性。没有观察到生长促进作用，但诱导了细胞凋亡或坏死，以及细胞周期阻滞，其中染料木黄酮是最有效的异黄酮。大豆和红三叶草中的异黄酮和植物提取物均不会促进人类癌细胞的生长，而是诱导细胞增殖减少、细胞凋亡增加和细胞周期阻滞。这些结果表明，异黄酮可以被认为是安全的化合物。
