Phytoestrogen and Its Food Sources
The major phytoestrogen groups are isoflavones, flavones, coumestans and lignans. The former three are flavonoids. Isoflavones are found in high concentration in soy bean and soy bean products (eg. tofu) where as lignans are mainly found in flax seed.
Some studies indicate that phytoestrogens have health benefits including potential reduction in breast cancer, prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease risks, possible protection against osteoporosis (bone loss) and menopausal symptoms. Besides, both flavonoid and lignan phytoestrogens have antioxidant activity.
Estrogen is available in medically formulated pills. However, dietary estrogen (phytoestrogen) can be also found in wide variety of food products (including herbs), even though the level varies depending on the source. Below is a short list of phytoestrogen food sources analyzed by researchers in Canada. The Canadian researchers analyzed 121 food samples, of which the food samples with the highest total phytoestrogen content are presented below. The food samples with the highest total phytoestrogen content were nuts and oil seeds followed by soy products.
Total phytoestrogen content presented below is the sum of isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitein, formononetin), lignans (secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, pinoresinol, lariciresinol), and coumestan (coumestrol).
Table 1. Foods high in phytoestrogen content.
Phytoestrogen food sources Phytoestrogen content (µg/100g)
Flax seed 379380
Soy beans 103920
Tofu 27150.1
Soy yogurt 10275
Sesame seed 8008.1
Flax bread 7540
Multigrain bread 4798.7
Soy milk 2957.2
Hummus 993
Garlic 603.6
Mung bean sprouts 495.1
Dried apricots 444.5
Alfalfa sprouts 441.4
Dried dates 329.5
Sunflower seed 216
Chestnuts 210.2
Olive oil 180.7
Almonds 131.1
Green bean 105.8
Peanuts 34.5
Onion 32
Blueberry 17.5
Corn 9
Coffee, regular 6.3
Watermelon 2.9
Milk, cow 1.2
Table 2. Total phytoestrogen and lignan content in vegetables, fruits, nuts and drinks.
Food items Lignan content (µg/100g) Total phytoestrogen (µg/100g)
Vegetables
Soy bean sprouts 2.2 789.6
Garlic 583.2 603.6
Winter squash 113.3 113.7
Green beans 66.8 105.8
Collards 97.8 101.3
Broccoli 93.9 94.1
Cabbage 79.1 80
Fruits
Dried prunes 177.5 183.5
Peaches 61.8 64.5
Strawberry 48.9 51.6
Raspberry 37.7 47.6
Watermelon 2.9 2.9
Nuts and other legume seeds
Pistachios 198.9 382.5
Chestnuts 186.6 210.2
Walnuts 85.7 139.5
Cashews 99.4 121.9
Hazel nuts 77.1 107.5
Lentils 26.6 36.5
Beverages
Wine, red 37.3 53.9
Tea, green 12 13
Wine, white 8 12.7
Tea, black 8.1 8.9
Coffee, decaf 4.8 5.5
Beer 1.1 2.7
Other
Black bean sauce 10.5 5330.3
Black licorice 415.1 862.7
Bread, rye 142.9 146.3
Good Luck,
TJ
