Table 3.

Clinical applicability of equol in the management of human health.

Agent Administered, Dosage and Duration	Volunteers	Design	Outcome	Conclusion	Reference
10 mg/day supplement containing 98% equol, for 3 months	57 post-menopausal women	Single center, randomized, controlled clinical trial	Reduction in visceral fat, as well as the levels of LDL and total cholesterol, some indications of delayed skin ageing	Equol supplementation may be used for the management of excess visceral fat, and may be used for the alleviation of climacteric symptoms as well as metabolic disorders	[152]
40 g low-fat milk powder + 63 mg daidzein, for a period of 6 months	270 post-menopausal, equol-producing women	Double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial	Lowering of T4 levels following daidzein supplementation, no disruption of thyroid functioning	Daidzein supplementation was found to be safe and did not hamper the levels of key markers of thyroid functioning, thereby establishing its safety profile	[153]
Supplement containing 10 mg equol + 10 mg resveratrol + 150 mg quercetin + 178 mg Passiflora, administered up to 8 months	126 post-menopausal women	Clinical trial	Improved vaginal health index, stabilization of pH, improvement of dyspareunia	Equol supplementation may be used for relieving post-menopausal symptoms	[154]
20 g/day soy isolate supplementation, containing 41 mg of isoflavones	44–75-year-old men predisposed to prostate cancer recurrence, following prostatectomy	Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial	Slight improvement in hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, reduction in blood pressure in non-producers of equol	The observation from the trial helped to establish the relationship between the equol-producing status of volunteers and soy supplementation, suggesting that certain effects may be observed in each sub-type that may be different from the other, and may be used to enhance therapeutic outcomes	[155]
50 and 100 mg supplementation of phytoSERM, containing genistein, daidzein and S-equol, for 12 weeks	71 peri-menopausal women	Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial	Good tolerance of the formulation in volunteers, mild adverse effects	Potentials for the usage of equol in the management of post-menopausal symptoms, as well as mild improvement vasomotor and cognitive functioning	[156]
Oral isoflavone administration (150 mg extract), alone or in conjunction with probiotics or hormonal therapy	60 post-menopausal women	Randomized, controlled clinical trial	Alleviation of urogenital complications, increase in the formation of metabolic intermediates, overall improvement of vaginal health	Isoflavone administration may be used in the management of urogenital symptoms and administration with probiotics may be linked with improvement of the synthesis of products of metabolism of isoflavones, which have been established to have therapeutic benefits	[157]
Oral isoflavone administration (consumption of a soy drink providing a dosage of 10–60 mg/day), over 12 weeks	101 post-menopausal women	Randomized, controlled clinical trial	Reduction in the severity of vasomotor symptoms associated with post-menopausal complications	Soy drink supplementation, containing isoflavones, may be used in the management of vasomotor symptoms and may be provided as a natural therapeutic agent	[158]