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Improvement of Immune Cell Functions in Aged Mice Treated for Five Weeks with Soybean Isoflavones
Author(s) -
BAEZA ISABEL,
DE CASTRO NURIA M.,
ALVARADO CARMEN,
ÁLVAREZ PEDRO,
ARRANZ LORENA,
BAYÓN JULIÁN,
DE LA FUENTE MÓNICA
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1395.054
Subject(s) - immune system , isoflavones , phytoestrogens , hormone , ovariectomized rat , lipopolysaccharide , endocrinology , immunology , medicine , longevity , biology , estrogen , gerontology
: Aging is associated with an impaired immune system as well as with a decline of several hormones, such as estrogens. Dietary phytoestrogens have been proposed as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. The beneficial action of soybean compounds is probably due to isoflavones, whose role as immunomodulators has been investigated with increasing interest. The aim of the present work was to study whether a 5‐week administration of a diet enriched in soybean isoflavones and green tea could influence the immune function of mice that were sham‐operated or ovariectomized. Natural killer activity (NK) and lymphoproliferation in response to the mitogens concanavaline A (Con A) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), were studied in peritoneal leukocytes. Both treatments with soybean or green tea plus soybean were highly effective in improving these immune parameters with respect to control groups. Since the immune system is a marker of health and a predictor of longevity, an adequate treatment with isoflavones could be useful in slowing down the effects of the aging process through an improvement in the two relevant immune functions studied.