ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT01232751ISOUpdated Jan 10, 2012

Effects of Isoflavones on Gene-expression

An interventional study of Isoflavone supplement in Postmenopause, sponsored by Wageningen University. Completed at 1 site in Netherlands. Open to female participants aged 45 Years to 70 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2012-01-10.

Sponsored by Wageningen University · Not applicable and Interventional

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
45 Years to 70 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Alleged benefits experienced by the consumption of soy in Asian countries have been attributed to the isoflavone content of soy products. Amongst other benefits, isoflavones are believed to relieve menopausal symptoms and are therefore often consumed in supplement form in Western countries. These supplements contain relatively high amounts of isoflavones, and the question is if these concentrations still exert beneficial effects or whether negative effects become dominant. Therefore, the investigators will study the effect of intake of one dose of isoflavones, as compared to placebo, for eight weeks on gene-expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) in post-menopausal, equol-producing women.

Read the detailed description

Primary Objective: to determine the effect of intake of one dose of isoflavones, as compared to placebo, for eight weeks on gene-expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) in post-menopausal, equol-producing women.

Secondary Objectives: to determine the association between isoflavone plasma levels and gene-expression in PBMCs; to determine the variation of isoflavone plasma levels between subjects after intake of isoflavones for four and eight weeks; to explore whether PBMC gene-expression markers identified after 8 weeks isoflavone intervention are already present after 4 weeks intervention; to explore whether the severity of previous menopausal complaints is related to the effect of isoflavones on PBMC gene-expression; and to explore the association between isoflavone levels in plasma and spot urine.

Study design: Double-blind placebo controlled crossover intervention study

Study population: Thirty-six healthy females, 45-70 years, post-menopausal and equol-producing

Intervention: Two intervention periods of eight weeks with a isoflavone supplement or a placebo and a washout period of 8 weeks in between.

Main study parameters/endpoints: The main study parameter is gene-expression in PBMCs measured by micro-arrays.

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Conditions studied

  • Postmenopause

Keywords

  • health
  • women
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In context

Lead sponsor

Wageningen University is the lead sponsor of 153 studies on the registry; 16 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
45 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • 45-70 years
  • Equol producer
  • Post-menopausal (Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) >40 UI/L) or
  • menstrual cycle absent for more than 1 year.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current use of contraceptives containing hormones
  • current use of hormone replacement therapy
  • regular soy product use (more than once a week)
  • regular isoflavone supplement use (more than once a week)
  • current use of medication containing sex hormones or sex hormone-triggering compounds
  • current use of anti-inflammatory medicines
  • use of antibiotics in the past 6 months
  • severe heart disease
  • thyroid disorders
  • removed thyroid gland
  • complete ovariectomy
  • prior diagnosis of cancer in medical history
  • alcohol and drug abuse
  • current smoker
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) >35 kg/m2
  • allergy to soy (products)
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
30 participants (actual)

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementIsoflavone supplement

    The participants will consume 2 times 2 supplements per day, which will lead to a daily dose of 114 mg. (HPLC analysis confirmed an aglycone isoflavone content of 28.41 mg per supplement)

    Also known as: Phytosoya forte (35mg) from the company Arkopharma

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Gene-expression measured by micro-arrays

    Gene expression changes will be assessed in PBMCs using whole genome Affymetrix microarrays. The gene expression changes after exposure to the isoflavone supplement will be compared to the changes after exposure to the placebo.

    Time frame: gene-expression after 8 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  2. Gene-expression measured by micro-arrays

    Gene expression changes will be assessed in PBMCs using whole genome Affymetrix microarrays. The gene expression changes after exposure to the isoflavone supplement will be compared to the changes after exposure to the placebo.

    Time frame: after 8 weeks of exposure to the placebo

Secondary outcomes

  1. Isoflavone levels in plasma and spoturine

    levels of the isoflavones genistein, dihydrogenistein, daidzein, dihydrodaidzein, equol and glycitein will be measured with High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Following the intention to treat analysis, these concentration markers will be determined in order to correlate the gene-expression measured with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) with the isoflavone plasma levels, and to stratify for the plasma levels in per protocol analysis.

    Time frame: after 0 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  2. Isoflavone levels in plasma and spoturine

    levels of the isoflavones genistein, dihydrogenistein, daidzein, dihydrodaidzein, equol and glycitein will be measured with HPLC. Following the intention to treat analysis, these concentration markers will be determined in order to correlate the gene-expression measured with QPCR with the isoflavone plasma levels, and to stratify for the plasma levels in per protocol analysis.

    Time frame: after 4 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  3. Isoflavone levels in plasma and spoturine

    levels of the isoflavones genistein, dihydrogenistein, daidzein, dihydrodaidzein, equol and glycitein will be measured with HPLC. Following the intention to treat analysis, these concentration markers will be determined in order to correlate the gene-expression measured with QPCR with the isoflavone plasma levels, and to stratify for the plasma levels in per protocol analysis.

    Time frame: after 8 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  4. Isoflavone levels in plasma and spoturine

    levels of the isoflavones genistein, dihydrogenistein, daidzein, dihydrodaidzein, equol and glycitein will be measured with HPLC. Following the intention to treat analysis, these concentration markers will be determined in order to correlate the gene-expression measured with QPCR with the isoflavone plasma levels, and to stratify for the plasma levels in per protocol analysis.

    Time frame: after 0 weeks of exposure to the placebo

  5. Isoflavone levels in plasma and spoturine

    levels of the isoflavones genistein, dihydrogenistein, daidzein, dihydrodaidzein, equol and glycitein will be measured with HPLC. Following the intention to treat analysis, these concentration markers will be determined in order to correlate the gene-expression measured with QPCR with the isoflavone plasma levels, and to stratify for the plasma levels in per protocol analysis.

    Time frame: after 4 weeks of exposure to the placebo

  6. Isoflavone levels in plasma and spoturine

    levels of the isoflavones genistein, dihydrogenistein, daidzein, dihydrodaidzein, equol and glycitein will be measured with HPLC. Following the intention to treat analysis, these concentration markers will be determined in order to correlate the gene-expression measured with QPCR with the isoflavone plasma levels, and to stratify for the plasma levels in per protocol analysis.

    Time frame: after 8 weeks of exposure to the placebo

  7. Confirmation of gene-expression with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)

    Ten genes per sample will be verified with QPCR. PBMCs from the subjects are available at time points before, halfway and after the two intervention periods. On the basis of the micro-array results it will be decided which genes from which samples will be quantified.

    Time frame: after 0 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  8. Confirmation of gene-expression with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)

    Ten genes per sample will be verified with QPCR. PBMCs from the subjects are available at time points before, halfway and after the two intervention periods. On the basis of the micro-array results it will be decided which genes from which samples will be quantified.

    Time frame: after 4 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  9. Confirmation of gene-expression with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)

    Ten genes per sample will be verified with QPCR. PBMCs from the subjects are available at time points before, halfway and after the two intervention periods. On the basis of the micro-array results it will be decided which genes from which samples will be quantified.

    Time frame: after 0 weeks of exposure to the placebo

  10. Confirmation of gene-expression with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)

    Ten genes per sample will be verified with QPCR. PBMCs from the subjects are available at time points before, halfway and after the two intervention periods. On the basis of the micro-array results it will be decided which genes from which samples will be quantified.

    Time frame: after 8 weeks of exposure to the isoflavone supplement

  11. Confirmation of gene-expression with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)

    Ten genes per sample will be verified with QPCR. PBMCs from the subjects are available at time points before, halfway and after the two intervention periods. On the basis of the micro-array results it will be decided which genes from which samples will be quantified.

    Time frame: after 4 weeks of exposure to the placebo

  12. Confirmation of gene-expression with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)

    Ten genes per sample will be verified with QPCR. PBMCs from the subjects are available at time points before, halfway and after the two intervention periods. On the basis of the micro-array results it will be decided which genes from which samples will be quantified.

    Time frame: after 8 weeks of exposure to the placebo

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Wageningen University
    Wageningen, Gelderland 6703 HD, Netherlands
08

References and documents

Publications

  • van der Velpen V, Geelen A, Schouten EG, Hollman PC, Afman LA, van 't Veer P. Estrogen receptor-mediated effects of isoflavone supplementation were not observed in whole-genome gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in postmenopausal, equol-producing women. J Nutr. 2013 Jun;143(6):774-80. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.174037. Epub 2013 Apr 24. PubMed 23616509 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 10, 2012, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01232751
Responsible party
Lisette de Groot ((Vera van der Velpen), Wageningen University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 2, 2010
Start date
Aug 2010
Primary completion
Oct 2011
Completion
Oct 2011
Last update
Jan 10, 2012

Study contacts

Pieter van 't Veer, Professor
principal investigator · Wageningen University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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