Comparison of blood and urine concentrations of equol by LC‒MS/MS method and factors associated with equol production in 466 Japanese men and women

Abstract Equol is produced from daidzein by the action of gut bacteria on soy isoflavones. However, not all people can produce equol, and metabolism differs even among the producers. We aimed to examine the equol producer status in both men and women, and investigate the relationships among the serum and urinary isoflavones as well as to other biomedical parameters. In this study, we measured the equol and daidzein concentrations from the blood and urine of 292 men and 174 women aged between 22 and 88 years by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS).We then analysed the cut-off value for equol producers in both sexes, the relationship of serum and urinary equol concentrations, and other parameters, such as sex, age, endocrine function, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and renal function with regards to equol-producing ability, among the different age groups. Equol producers were defined as those whose log ratio of urinary equol and daidzein concentration or log (equol/daidzein) was -1.42 or higher. Among 466 participants, 195 were equol producers (42%). The proportion of equol producers was larger in women. The cut-off value for equol producers was consistent in both sexes. Positive relationships were noted between serum and urinary equol levels in equol producers of both sexes; however, such an association was not detected in nonproducers. PSA levels in men were significantly lower in equol producers (0.8 v.s. 1.0 ng/ml, p=0.004), especially in those in their 40 s (0.82 vs. 1.13 ng/ml, p<0.001) and 60 s (0.64 vs. 1.02 ng/ml, p<0.001).