Editing Soybean (section)

===Research by constituent===
====Lignans====
Plant [[lignans]] are associated with high fiber foods such as cereal brans and beans are the principal precursor to mammalian lignans which have an ability to bind to human estrogen sites. Soybeans are a significant source of mammalian lignan precursor [[secoisolariciresinol]] containing 13–273&nbsp;μg/100&nbsp;g dry weight.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=10702603 |date=March 2000 |last1=Adlercreutz |first1=H. |last2=Mazur |first2=W. |last3=Bartels |first3=P. |last4=Elomaa |first4=V. |last5=Watanabe |first5=S. |last6=Wähälä |first6=K. |last7=Landström |first7=M. |last8=Lundin |first8=E. |last9=Bergh |first9=A.|title=Phytoestrogens and Prostate Disease |volume=130 |issue=3 |pages=658S–59S |journal=The Journal of Nutrition|doi=10.1093/jn/130.3.658S |doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Phytochemicals====
{{See also|Phytochemicals}}

Soybeans and processed soy foods are among the richest foods in total [[phytoestrogen]]s (wet basis per 100&nbsp;g), which are present primarily in the form of the [[isoflavone]]s, [[daidzein]] and [[genistein]].<ref name="lpi">{{cite web | url=http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/soy-isoflavones | title=Soy isoflavones | publisher=Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis | date=2016 | access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |pages=184–201 |doi=10.1207/s15327914nc5402_5 |title=Phytoestrogen Content of Foods Consumed in Canada, Including Isoflavones, Lignans, and Coumestan |year=2006 |last1=Thompson |first1=Lilian U. |last2=Boucher |first2=Beatrice A. |last3=Liu |first3=Zhen |last4=Cotterchio |first4=Michelle |last5=Kreiger |first5=Nancy |journal=[[Nutrition and Cancer]]|volume=54 |issue=2 |pmid=16898863|s2cid=60328 }}</ref> Because most naturally occurring phytoestrogens act as [[selective estrogen receptor modulators]], or SERMs, which do not necessarily act as direct agonists of estrogen receptors, normal consumption of foods that contain these phytoestrogens should not provide sufficient amounts to elicit a physiological response in humans.<ref name="pmid11352776">{{cite journal |pages=613–18 |doi=10.1042/CS20000212 |title=Effect of a Phytoestrogen Food Supplement on Reproductive Health in Normal Males |date=June 2001 |last1=Mitchell |first1=Julie H. |last2=Cawood |first2=Elizabeth |last3=Kinniburgh |first3=David |last4=Provan |first4=Anne |last5=Collins |first5=Andrew R. |last6=Irvine |first6=D. Stewart |journal=[[Clinical Science (journal)|Clinical Science]]|volume=100 |issue=6 |pmid=11352776}}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last1 = Oseni | first1 = T | last2 = Patel | first2 = R | last3 = Pyle | first3 = J | last4 = Jordan | first4 = VC | year = 2008 | title = Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators and Phytoestrogens. |journal=[[Planta Med]]| volume = 74 | issue = 13 | pages = 1656–65 | doi = 10.1055/s-0028-1088304 | pmid = 18843590 | pmc = 2587438 }}</ref> The major product of daidzein microbial metabolism is [[equol]].<ref name="pmid30614249">{{cite journal | vauthors=Luca SV, Macovei I, Bujor A, Trifan A | title=Bioactivity of dietary polyphenols: The role of metabolites | journal=[[Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition]] | volume=60 | issue=4 | pages=626–659 | year=2020 | doi = 10.1080/10408398.2018.1546669 | pmid=30614249| s2cid=58651581 }}</ref> Only 33% of Western Europeans have a [[microbiome]] that produces equol, compared to 50–55% of Asians.<ref name="pmid30614249" />

Soy isoflavones—[[polyphenol]]ic compounds that are also produced by other legumes like peanuts and [[chickpea]]s<ref name=lpi/>—are under preliminary research. As of 2016, no [[causality|cause-and-effect]] relationship has been shown in [[clinical research]] to indicate that soy isoflavones lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.<ref name=lpi/><ref name="cardio">{{cite journal |date=February 21, 2006|pages=1034–44 |doi=10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.171052 |title=Soy Protein, Isoflavones, and Cardiovascular Health: An American Heart Association Science Advisory for Professionals from the Nutrition Committee|last1=Sacks |first1=F.M. |journal=[[Circulation (journal)|Circulation]]|volume=113 |issue=7 |pmid=16418439 |last2=Lichtenstein |first2=A. |last3=Van Horn |first3=L. |last4=Harris |first4=W. |last5=Kris-Etherton |first5=P. |last6=Winston |first6=M. |author7=American Heart Association Nutrition Committee|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Isoflavones for hypercholesterolaemia in adults |vauthors=Qin Y, Niu K, Zeng Y, Liu P, Yi L, Zhang T, Zhang QY, Zhu JD, Mi MT | journal=[[Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews]]| year=2013 | volume=2013 | issue=6 | pages=CD009518 | doi=10.1002/14651858.CD009518.pub2 | pmid=23744562|pmc=10163823 }}</ref>

====Phytic acid====
Soybeans contain [[phytic acid]], which may act as a [[Chelation|chelating agent]] and inhibit mineral absorption, especially for diets already low in minerals.<ref>{{cite book | chapter = Phytates | title = Toxicants Occurring Naturally in Foods | author = Committee on Food Protection, Food and Nutrition Board, National Research Council | publisher = National Academy of Sciences | location = Washington, DC | year = 1973 | isbn = 978-0-309-02117-3 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/toxicantsoccurri0000unse/page/363 363–71] | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lIsrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA363 | url = https://archive.org/details/toxicantsoccurri0000unse/page/363 }}</ref>