Polymorphisms in genes involved in the metabolism and transport of soy isoflavones affect the urinary metabolite profile in premenopausal women following consumption of a commercial soy supplement as a single bolus dose

Scope Genetic variation in relevant enzymes and transporters may contribute to discordant observations concerning health outcomes of dietary isoflavone consumption, so we examined the association of the UGT1A1*28 promoter polymorphism and of other SNPs with isoflavone metabolites in urine. Methods and resultsWe genotyped prospectively for polymorphisms in UGT1A1 (UGT1A1*28), LPH (666G>A), CBG (1368T>A), ABCG2 (421C>A), and ABCC2 (1249G>A) to select 100 women (1850 years) to receive a commercial soy supplement as a single dose and collect all urine over 24 h for analysis by RP-HPLC. We observed large differences in isoflavone recovery (mean 39%, eightfold variation) and metabolites. Glucuronides were the major metabolites (72% of total). UGT1A1*28 was associated only with percentage of glycitein as sulphate (positive; p = 0.046), but excluding five participants with both minor alleles of CBG and ABCG2 uncovered additional associations with percentage of glycitein as glucuronide (negative; p = 0.028), combined isoflavones as sulphate (positive; p = 0.035) and sulphate-to-glucuronide ratio for combined isoflavones (positive; p = 0.036). CBG1368T>A, ABCG2 421C>A, and ABCC2 1249G>A were also associated with differences in isoflavone metabolites in urine. Conclusion Genetic variation in UGT1A1, CBG, ABCG2, and ABCC2 influences isoflavone metabolism so may affect benefits of dietary consumption.