Renal and vascular actions of equol in the rat

The urinary isoflavonoid equol inhibits membrane Na-K-Cl cotransporters at similar concentrations to those at which furosemide inhibits them, but the significance of this action is not known.

To investigate the potential salidiuretic and vascular actions of equol in the rat.

Renal functioning was assessed in vitro in the isolated perfused kidney and in vivo in conscious rats. The vascular contractility of isolated aorta was assessed.

In the isolated perfused kidney equol was concentrated 50- to 70-fold in the urinary fluid, it was 3-4 times less potent than furosemide at increasing diuresis, natriuresis and kaliuresis (the difference was due to its higher protein-binding affinity), and it induced a modest but significant increase in glomerular filtration rate. In vivo, orally administered equol was a modest natriuretic agent, about 8-fold less potent than orally administered furosemide (in molar terms). In isolated aortic rings precontracted by administration of phenylephrine, administration of equol relaxed the contracted aorta at 10-fold lower concentrations (concentration for half-maximal activity 58.9 +/- 16 micromol/l, n = 3) than did furosemide (concentration for half-maximal activity 633 +/- 145 micromol/l, n = 3).

Equol is a modest natriuretic and vasorelaxant agent in the rat. Further studies are required in order to investigate the potential natriuretic and perhaps hypotensive actions of dietary equol precursors (daidzein).