Can soyabean isoflavones mimic the effects of energy restriction on healthy ageing?

Energy restriction is the only known robust dietary measure effective in increasing lifespan across a wide variety of species. Our current research indicates a role for the best-established dietary mimetic of energy restriction, the red grape polyphenol resveratrol, in altering information carried by DNA at a level superimposed on the information provided by the sequence of bases, known as epigenetic marking. These effects appear to share a common pathway with some of the effects of energy restriction that involve the protein Sirt1. Preliminary observations made in human intestinal cells reveal that isoflavones found in the soyabean may share some of these functional properties and so highlight the potential for a diet rich in these compounds to promote healthy ageing.