Phyto-oestrogen levels in foods: the design and construction of the VENUS database

Abstract

The objective of the Vegetal Estrogens in Nutrition and the Skeleton (VENUS) project was to evaluate existing data on dietary exposure to compounds with oestrogenic and anti-oestrogenic effects present in plant foods as constituents or contaminants, and to identify and disseminate in vitro and in vivo methodologies to analyse the effects of such compounds on bone. To permit the assessment of exposure to isoflavones in European populations (Italy, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands), the VENUS database of phyto-oestrogen levels in foods was established. Data on the isoflavone (genistein and daidzein) content of 791 foods, including almost 300 foods commonly consumed in Europe, were collected. Levels of coumestrol, formononetin and biochanin A in a limited number of foods were also included. Lignan levels (secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol) in 158 foods were incorporated into the database, which also contains information on the references sourced for the compositional data, on the analytical methods used by each author and on the number of foods analysed in each reference. The VENUS database was constructed in Microsoft Access 2000, which is widely available as part of Microsoft Office Professional. This paper outlines the procedures used for the selection and evaluation of existing literature data for incorporation into the database. In addition, the design of the database is described, along with the data entry and quality control procedures used in its construction. Limitations of the data are discussed and guidelines for its use are provided.

Circulating enterolactone and risk of breast cancer: a prospective study in New York

“…However, in a preliminary study we have shown that, in our cohort subjects, circulating enterolactone is fairly stable over a 2-year period of time, as indicated by a reliability coefficient of 0.55 (ZeleniuchJacquotte et al, 1998). In addition, because the study was based on serum samples obtained prior to diagnosis of disease, the error in measurement would be expected to be nondifferential with respect to case -control status and therefore very unlikely to result in a change of direction of the exposure -disease association in premenopausal women (Kelsey et al, 1996).…”

“…Research on the association between the dietary intake of specific phytooestrogens, in particular lignans, and disease risk has been hampered, though, by the paucity of data on the amount of these compounds in individual foods, although the development of appropriate databases is underway (Horn-Ross et al, 2000;Kiely et al, 2003;Valsta et al, 2003). Dietary intake of foods known to be rich in lignan precursors has been shown to correlate positively with lignan plasma levels (Horner et al, 2002).…”

Phytoestrogen Content of Foods of Animal Origin: Dairy Products, Eggs, Meat, Fish, and Seafood

“…However, not all epidemiological and surveillance studies have biological samples available, and many studies have relied on reports of food intake and associated phytoestrogen databases to assess phytoestrogen exposure in relation to disease risk (28)(29)(30)(31)(32). Previous food analyses have mainly been limited to isoflavones in fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, and there is little data available for lignans and animal foods (33-36) (37).…”

The complex links between dietary phytochemicals and human health deciphered by metabolomics

“…Several food composition tables for phytochemicals have been constructed in recent years [30]. They include for instance the different databases from the US Department of Agriculture related to the levels of isoflavones, flavonoids, procyanidins or carotenoids in selected foods (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/ foodcomp/Data/isoflav/isoflav.html, http://www.nal.usda.-gov/fnic/foodcomp/, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/PA/PA.html) [31], the Phenol-Explorer database for all polyphenols including phenolic acids [32], the VENUS database related to the levels of phytoestrogens in plant foods [33], databases dedicated to the glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables [34] or phytosterols in various foods [35,36]. However, these databases are still incomplete in regard to the considerable diversity of phytochemicals in food plants.…”