Isoflavone Research Initiative

With the constantly increasing average age the demography of Western Societies is currently changing dramatically. The development of typical age-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, dementia, but also of menopausal complaints is consequently a major challenge . Meeting this challenge requires new thinking. It is no longer sufficient to focus on new drugs for the treatment of already manifest diseases, but to prevent or delay their development.The much abused keyword for the future is therefore "prevention".

Talking about prevention includes the possibilities and chances within food and food components with known health benefits . However, although everybody seems to agree that using the opportunities given to us by nature the discussion still remains theoretical - for various reasons. Patenting reasons, for instance, as the health benefits of food preparations can rarely be financially protected, which is why "big pharma" has no real interest in such preparations. Political issues are another reason: Food items with health claims directly compete with chemically defined drugs and with herbal medicinal products - in both cases the competition is not well regarded, neither by the industry nor by the regulatory authorities. It is no coincidence that every time a promising food ingredient with interesting health benefits "threatens" the economic interests of the drug manufacturers, very suddenly a debate on potential risks is started - although the discussed risk remains in most cases purely hypothetical. It is likewise no coincidence that serious scientists stand up against natural products such as isoflavones as "phyto-estrogens" when they have food status, and at the same time promote other phyto-estrogens which should share the discussed risk, but are not brought to the debate only because they have drug status.

The Isoflavone Research Initiative is convinced that the regulatory status of soy products and isoflavones should not be of primary concern to those who want to contribute to working solutions for the pending health problems. The tasks we are facing is to evaluate and communicate the existing information on benefits and risks of isoflavones, and to identify fields where more data is needed - independent of economic interests.

Identification of benefits and risks requires a more global view as usually applied: Just looking at ones own area of expertise only adds to the confusion of the consumer if potential risks and benefits are not discussed in the context of existing alternatives or even in the context of other scientific fields. For example, an identified risk or benefit may be real, but still be minor in comparison to the existing alternatives. A mechanism of action observed in an animal experiment or in vitro study may be exiting, but won't add much to science if not compared with the findings in humans. A more global view can, however, only be reached by an interdisciplinary approach.

Due to the multitude of research results for isoflavones and adjacent topics such an interdisciplinary approach is not only possible for isoflavones, but in fact urgently warranted. It has been used in earlier assessments such as the risk-benefit-analysis of the French Agency for Food Safety in 2004, but with the rapid increase of knowledge the validity of such assessments is unfortunately rather short-lived. To date there is no official body which could regulary follow up on the developments on isoflavones - which is where the Isoflavone Research Initiative comes in.  

The members of the Isoflavone Research Initiative come from different areas including gynaecology, natural product research, biostatistics, toxicology, risk/benefit assessment procecures, European food and drug regulations, and scientific communication. All have experience in isoflavone research and are convinced that isoflavones do not receive the kind of attention they should be given in view of the clear health benefits a soy rich diet already gives to Asian societies.  

The aim of the Isoflavone Research Initiative is to collect, interpret and communicate the findings on isoflavones from all fields of science. The Isoflavone Research Initiative addresses its communications to fellow scientists, consumers and regulators, including the European level. Everybody with experience in any field related to our activities, and interested in an honest communication of facts on this fascinating class of natural compounds is wellcome as a member. There is currently no membership fee, as the work of the association is primarily financed through donations.

Please feel free to contact us!