The technology holds promise for a number of analyses, including separation of pharmaceutical chemicals. Organic chemist Caroline Lang'at, of Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, worked with Iowa State food toxicologist Pat Murphy to develop a much simpler method for synthesizing a key chemical compound in making the isoflavone glycitein. The workshop teaches leadership skills to women scientists from around the world. A simple way of making glycitein could be a boon for research into isoflavones, Murphy said. Nutritionists believe these compounds reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and age-related cancers of the breast, prostate and colon, but they don't entirely understand how or why.
Researchers know a lot about genistein and daidzein because they are easy to obtain.
But glycitein has had relatively little lab work done on it due to its scarcity. It's a one-bowl process. That's the beauty of it. Murphy's research group has submitted a paper to the Journal of Ag and Food Chemistry in the hopes of making Lang'at's process known to a wide range of researchers. She thinks that with an abundance of glycitein, researchers will get the whole picture of what makes isoflavones so beneficial when consumed by humans.