Neuroprotective effects of soy phytoestrogens in the rat brain

Soy extracts are widely used as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Soy phytoestrogens, such as genistein, may act on the nervous system, affecting mood, cognitive function and behavior. In addition, several studies suggest that soy phytoestrogens are neuroprotective. The hypothesis of the present study was that soy extracts may exert neuroprotection and that this effect is mediated by phytoestrogens such as genistein. To test this hypothesis we assessed whether an acute administration of soy extract or genistein in vivo affects hippocampal neuronal loss induced by the systemic administration of kainic acid to adult Wistar female rats. One week after ovariectomy, animals received one intraperitoneal injection of soy extract (0.2, 1, 2 or 20 mg/kg), one injection of genistein (0.1, 1 or 10 mg/kg) or one injection of vehicle. Thirty minutes later, all animals received one intraperitoneal injection of kainic acid (7 mg/kg) or vehicle. One week after the injections, all animals were fixed by perfusion and the number of Nissl-stained neurons in the hilus of the dentate gyrus was estimated by the optical disector method. Administration of soy extract, even at high doses, did not induce neuronal loss and did not increase neuronal degeneration after kainic acid injury. On the contrary, soy extract at doses ranging from 1 to 20 mg/kg prevented neuronal loss induced by kainic acid. Genistein showed neuroprotective effects only at high dose (10 mg/kg), suggesting that other components in the soy extract are involved in the neuroprotective effect.