Hamasite Clinic, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo Midtown Medical Center, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Menopause. 2019 Mar;26(3):273-285. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001202.
Equol is an active metabolite of isoflavones produced by gut microbiota. It is beneficial to health; however, equol-producing ability varies greatly among individuals. These variations depend on the host's gut microbiota and lifestyle habits including diet. We investigated the relationship between the gut microbiota, lifestyle habits including diet, and equol-producing ability in postmenopausal Japanese women.
We studied 58 postmenopausal Japanese women aged 48 to 69 years who visited the Sendai Medical Center in January, 2018. Self-administered questionnaires assessed their recent and remote food intake histories and lifestyle habits. Fecal microbiome analysis was performed using a next-generation sequencer. Urinary equol was measured using an immunochromatographic strip test. Women with urinary equol concentration >1.0 μM were defined as equol producers.
Equol-producing bacteria were identified in 97% (56) of women; however, only 13 (22%) were equol producers. Equol producers showed significantly higher microflora diversity (P = 0.002), and significantly different recent and remote food intake patterns compared with equol nonproducers. Higher consumption of foods such as meat, fish, soy, vegetables, and Japanese snacks positively affected microbial diversity and equol production, whereas a high intake of Ramen and smoking showed negative effects.
Equol production might not depend on the quantity, but on the quality of equol-producing bacteria. High microbial diversity might enhance equol production. Increasing microbial diversity through healthy lifestyle habits and habitual consumption of a wide variety of foods might be useful to maintain a healthy gut environment for equol production.
肠内菌群可将大豆异黄酮转化为活性代谢物雌马酚。雌马酚对健康有益，但个体间产生雌马酚的能力差异很大。这种差异取决于宿主的肠道菌群和生活方式习惯，包括饮食。我们调查了绝经后日本女性的肠道菌群、生活方式习惯（包括饮食）与产生雌马酚能力之间的关系。
我们研究了 2018 年 1 月访问仙台医疗中心的 58 名 48 至 69 岁的绝经后日本女性。她们通过自我管理问卷评估了近期和远程的饮食史和生活方式习惯。使用下一代测序仪进行粪便微生物组分析。使用免疫层析条测试测量尿液中的雌马酚。尿液中雌马酚浓度＞1.0 μM 的女性被定义为雌马酚产生者。
97%（56 名）的女性中鉴定出产生雌马酚的细菌，但只有 13 名（22%）是雌马酚产生者。与非雌马酚产生者相比，雌马酚产生者的微生物多样性显著更高（P=0.002），且近期和远程的饮食模式也存在显著差异。更多地食用肉类、鱼类、大豆、蔬菜和日本小吃等食物会对微生物多样性和雌马酚的产生产生积极影响，而摄入大量拉面和吸烟则会产生负面影响。
雌马酚的产生可能不取决于其数量，而取决于产生雌马酚的细菌的质量。较高的微生物多样性可能会增强雌马酚的产生。通过健康的生活方式习惯和习惯性地摄入各种各样的食物来增加微生物多样性，可能有助于维持产生雌马酚的健康肠道环境。
