Conclusions : Isoflavone treatments exert a moderately beneficial effect against  estrogen-deficient bone loss in women .
The effect appears dependent on whether isoflavone treatments are in aglycone form ; we conclude that beneficial effects against bone loss may be enhanced for isoflavone aglycones
Background : Age-related estrogen deficiency leads to accelerated bone resorption .
There is evidence that , through selective estrogen receptor modulation , isoflavones may exert beneficial effects against  estrogen-deficient bone loss .
Isoflavone aglycones show higher bioavailability than their glycosidic counterparts and thus may have greater potency .
Objective : To summarize evidence , we executed a systematic review and meta- analysis examining isoflavone therapies and bone mineral density ( BMD ) loss in peri- and postmenopausal women .
Decreased bone resorption with soy isoflavone supplementation in postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of soy isoflavone supplementation on bone mineral density ( BMD ) and markers of bone turnover  in postmenopausal women . METHODS In this r and omized , placebo-controlled clinical trial , we used a crossover design to test the effect of soy isoflavone ( 110 mg/day ) ( 1.3:1.0:0.22 ratio of genistein/daidzein/ glycitein ) on bone formation , bone resorption , bone mineral content ( BMC ) , and BMD for 6 months . RESULTS Postmenopausal women ( n = 19 ) , mean age 70.6 + /- 6.3 years and mean time since menopause 19.1 + /- 5.5 years , were given isoflavone supplements for 6 months . There was a 37 % decrease in urinary concentrations of type 1 collagen alpha1-chain helical peptide ( HP ) , a marker of bone resorption , during the isoflavone supplementation compared with baseline ( p < 0.05 ) and a significant difference in mean ( SE ) HP excretion levels when isoflavone was compared with placebo ( 43.4 + /- 5.2 vs. 56.3 + /- 7.2 microg/mmol creatinine [ cr ] , p < 0.05 ) . With isoflavone supplementation , mean spine BMD at L2 and L3 was significantly greater when treatment was compared with control , with a difference between means of 0.03 + /- 0.04 g and 0.03 + /- 0.04 g ( p < 0.05 ) , respectively . There were nonsignificant increases from baseline for total spine BMC ( 3.5 % ) , total spine BMD ( 1 % ) , total hip BMC ( 3.6 % ) , and total hip BMD ( 1.3 % ) with the isoflavone treatment . CONCLUSIONS Soy isoflavone , in isolated form , was effective in this study to significantly decrease bone resorption  in postmenopausal women . Further investigation needs to be done to evaluate the long-term effects of soy isoflavone on bone mass and fracture risk
Conclusions : Isoflavone treatments exert a moderately beneficial effect against  estrogen-deficient bone loss in women .
The effect appears dependent on whether isoflavone treatments are in aglycone form ; we conclude that beneficial effects against bone loss may be enhanced for isoflavone aglycones
Background : Age-related estrogen deficiency leads to accelerated bone resorption .
There is evidence that , through selective estrogen receptor modulation , isoflavones may exert beneficial effects against  estrogen-deficient bone loss .
Isoflavone aglycones show higher bioavailability than their glycosidic counterparts and thus may have greater potency .
Objective : To summarize evidence , we executed a systematic review and meta- analysis examining isoflavone therapies and bone mineral density ( BMD ) loss in peri- and postmenopausal women .