Soy consumption, adhesion molecules, and pro-inflammatory cytokines: a brief review of the literature

Given the interest in the vascular effects of both soyfoods and soy isoflavones, the purpose of this short review is to evaluate clinical trials that have examined the effects of isoflavone-rich soy products on the novel cardiovascular risk factors, cellular adhesion molecules, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. A total of 14 randomized clinical studies were assessed. From the data evaluated, evidence suggests that neither soyfoods nor soy isoflavones affect IL-6 or TNF-alpha expression. In contrast, the effects of soy on cellular adhesion molecules are mixed. Study design characteristics possibly contributing to the inconsistent data are discussed and recommendations for future research in this area are presented.