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To cite this Article Kuhnle, Gunter G. C., Dell'Aquila, Caterina, Aspinall, Sue M., Runswick, Shirley A., Mulligan, Angela A. and
Bingham, Sheila A.(2009)'Phytoestrogen Content of Cereals and Cereal-Based Foods Consumed in the UK',Nutrition and
Cancer,61:3,302 — 309
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/01635580802567141
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01635580802567141
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Nutrition and Cancer, 61(3), 302–309
Copyright © 2009, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0163-5581 print / 1532-7914 online
DOI: 10.1080/01635580802567141
Angela A. Mulligan
EPIC, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Institute of Public Health,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
Sheila A. Bingham
MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, England
Downloaded By: [Kuhnle, Gunter G. C.] At: 00:12 17 April 2009
302
PHYTOESTROGEN CONTENT OF CEREALS CONSUMED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 303
These data will allow a more accurate determination of di- fitted with an electrospray ion source in negative ion mode.
etary phytoestrogen exposure and investigation of their effects in Compounds were quantified using corresponding 13 C3 -labeled
vivo. internal standards; for coumestrol, 13 C3 -enterolactone was
used.
The method was validated on both LC/MS/MS systems. The
EXPERIMENTAL intrabatch cv of this method is between 3 and 14% and the
interbatch between 1 and 6%. As quality control, a sample con-
Chemicals
sisting of equal amounts of red cabbage, orange, and celery was
Biochanin A, daidzein, genistein, glycitein, formononetin,
analyzed with each batch. The limit of detection of this method
secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, and coumestrol were pur-
is 1.5 µg/100 g dry weight.
chased from Plantech (Reading, Berkshire, UK). 13 C3 -biochanin
A, 13 C3 -daidzein, 13 C3 -genistein, 13 C3 -glycitein, 13 C3 -formon-
onetin, 13 C3 -matairesinol, 13 C3 -secosiolariciresinol, and 13 C3 - Data Analysis
enterolactone were obtained from Dr. Nigel Botting (University Each sample was prepared in triplicate and analyzed twice.
of St Andrews, Fife, UK) (36–39). β-glucuronidase (from Helix Data given is the average of two analyses and is in µg/100 g wet
Pomatia), β-glucosidase (from almonds), and cellulase (from weight.
Trichoderma reesi) were purchased from Sigma (Poole, Dorset,
UK). Water, methanol, acetic acid, and ammonia were purchased RESULTS
from Sigma and Fisher Scientific (Loughborough, Leicester- All foods analyzed contained detectable amounts of phy-
shire, UK). To inhibit losses of target compounds by adsorption toestrogens (Table 1). The highest amounts of phytoestrogens
to glassware, only silanized glassware was used. (mainly in the form of isoflavones) among the foods tested were
found in breads, with an average 375 ± 67 µg/100 g (excluding
the soya-linseed bread with 12,000 µg/100 g); whereas most
Sampling other foods contained less than 100 µg/100 g phytoestrogens,
Samples of each food were purchased from at least 5 dif- mainly as lignans, with the notable exception of “luxury/extra
ferent food outlets (where possible) in Cambridgeshire, UK. If fruit muesli,” which contained 4,775 µg/100 g isoflavones and
possible, the foods bought at each outlet were from different 381 µg/100 g lignans.
manufacturers, varieties, countries of origin, and/or batch num- Daidzein, genistein, and glycitein were the most common
bers. Each sample was weighed, prepared, and a representative isoflavones detected, whereas only small amounts of biochanin
portion (approximately 35 g dry weight) was taken from each of A and formononetin were found. In most foods, secoisolari-
the 5 samples. The samples were frozen (−20◦ C), freeze-dried ciresinol was the main lignan, with the notable exception of
if necessary (BOC Edwards, Crawley, Sussex, UK), and stored “soya lecithin fortified quick cook porridge oats,” which con-
at −20◦ C until analysis. For analysis, samples of each food were tained 120 µg/100 g matairesinol but only 7 µg/100 g sec-
pooled (equal amounts), mixed, weighed, and processed as de- oisolariciresinol. Except for breads, only a few foods contained
scribed below. large amounts of isoflavones, in particular porridge oats and raw
304 G. G. C. KUHNLE ET AL.
TABLE 1
Phytoestrogen content in cereals and cereal-based foodsa
Isoflavones Lignans
Food Daidzein Genistein Glycitein Biochanin A Formononetin Secoisolariciresinol Matairesinol Coumestrol
Bread
Bread, brown, sliced 155 246 14 — <1 10 <1 <1
Bread, Danish type 235 465 36 5 <1 2 3 <1
Bread, granary, sliced 89 154 18 — <1 8 <1 <1
Bread, mixed grain, sliced 106 171 16 4 — 214 2 <1
Bread, rye 8 13 <1 3 <1 21 9 —
Bread, soya—linseed 3,065 6,807 709 20 8 1,374 5 —
Bread, white, added fiber 229 403 37 6 <1 5 1 —
Bread, white, sliced 185 298 28 8 <1 6 <1 <1
Bread, whole meal, sliced 209 333 39 <1 <1 19 <1 <1
French stick/baguette, 122 206 19 10 — 8 3 <1
white
Malt loaf <1 2 <1 14 <1 26 4 —
Pappadum, grilled 6 24 29 15 3 22 19 2
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Pumpernickel bread 7 3 2 — 3 39 27 —
Wheat germ bread, sliced 149 249 24 <1 <1 11 <1 <1
Breakfast cereals
Bran flakes — — <1 — 2 53 3 <10
Chocolate puffed rice — 1 4 — 1 2 8 —
Corn flakes 19 — 2 6 2 6 1 <10
Crunchy oat cereal — 1 — — <1 12 3 <1
Crunchy wheat & malted — 3 <1 11 — 19 2 —
barley cereal
Crunchy/Honey nut corn 2 5 9 — <1 10 4 —
flakes
Frosted flakes <1 9 <1 — 1 <1 — <1
Bran flakes with fruit — <1 — <1 <1 12 2 <1
High Fiber Bran cereal 2 3 4 <1 2 53 6 <1
Malted Wheat type cereal 2 2 2 <1 2 30 — —
Muesli, luxury/extra fruit 1,693 3,065 13 — 4 355 26 —
Muesli, Swiss style — 3 <1 — 1 7 3 <1
Muesli, unsweetened — 2 <1 — 1 7 2 <1
Multigrain hoops <1 1 3 — <1 7 3 <1
Oat bran flakes — <1 — — 3 14 1 <1
Porridge oats, quick cook 8 19 5 11 24 7 120 —
+ soya lecithin
Porridge oats, quick cook 13 5 22 1 15 47 53 —
+ vitamin + minerals
Puffed rice (leading brand) <1 3 1 3 2 3 3 <1
Puffed Rice n.s. 3 2 <1 4 1 4 <1 <1
Puffed wheat n.s. — 6 — — 2 8 3 <1
Rice a—wheat flakes <1 2 <1 <1 <1 6 10 <1
Rolled oats <1 — <1 6 <1 5 <1 <1
Shredded whole wheat <1 <1 7 — 1 11 5 —
cereal
Shredded whole wheat — 6 <1 1 <1 11 10 <1
filled with raisins
Sugar/golden puffs type <1 — — 5 3 21 1 <10
cereal
Sultana bran, n.s. — — 5 — 1 3 11 —
Wheat cereal biscuit 4 11 2 — <1 18 <1 <1
(Continued on next page)
PHYTOESTROGEN CONTENT OF CEREALS CONSUMED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 305
TABLE 1
Phytoestrogen content in cereals and cereal-based foodsa (Continued)
Isoflavones Lignans
Food Daidzein Genistein Glycitein Biochanin A Formononetin Secoisolariciresinol Matairesinol Coumestrol
Wholegrain wheat flakes — — 5 — 1 12 10 —
with nuts
Wholewheat flakes 2 2 1 1 3 129 — <1
Biscuits and other snacks
Chocolate biscuit, full 7 25 3 8 <1 14 14 <1
coated
Chocolate coated 4 9 <1 5 <1 4 4 <1
marshmallow biscuit
Chocolate Wafer biscuit 7 20 1 11 <1 2 3 —
Cookie type biscuit with 3 7 1 7 <1 3 6 <1
chocolate chip
Cracker bread type 1 5 1 — <1 8 7 1
Cracker, wheat and rye <1 1 <1 4 <1 9 16 <1
Cracker/thin, cheese <1 2 <1 16 <1 6 5 <1
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TABLE 1
Phytoestrogen content in cereals and cereal-based foodsa (Continued)
Isoflavones Lignans
Food Daidzein Genistein Glycitein Biochanin A Formononetin Secoisolariciresinol Matairesinol Coumestrol
Pearl barley <1 <1 <1 14 <1 7 <1 <1
Semolina <1 <1 <1 7 <1 2 — <1
Tapioca <1 1 <1 5 <1 8 <1 —
Wheat bran <1 <1 2 6 1 5 <1 3
Wheat flour, brown, <1 1 <1 7 <1 6 — <1
self—raising & strong
Wheat flour, white, plain 1 6 2 — <1 34 <1 2
Wheat flour, whole meal <1 — <1 9 <1 6 <1 <1
Wheat germ — 2 <1 — 4 26 9 —
Pasta and noodles
Lasagna, green, cooked <1 — <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1
Lasagna, green, raw 1 <1 <1 — <1 4 3 —
Lasagna, white, cooked <1 — <1 — — 2 <1 —
Lasagna, white, raw <1 — <1 — — 4 1 —
Lasagna, whole wheat, <1 <1 <1 2 — 1 2 —
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cooked
Lasagna, whole wheat, raw <1 4 <1 10 — 2 <1 —
Macaroni, white, cooked <1 — <1 — <1 <1 <1 —
Macaroni, white, raw 1 <1 <1 — — 4 <1 —
Noodles, cooked <1 <1 <1 <1 — <1 1 —
Noodles, instant, raw 4 6 2 1 3 <1 17 —
Pasta (whole wheat), — 3 — 5 <1 9 1 —
macaroni & fusilli,
cooked
Pasta (whole wheat), <1 3 <1 8 <1 9 3 —
macaroni & fusilli, raw
Spaghetti, white, cooked <1 — <1 — — 2 <1 —
Spaghetti, white, raw 1 — <1 — — 5 1 —
Spaghetti, whole wheat, <1 — <1 — <1 6 <1 —
cooked
Spaghetti, whole wheat, <1 — <1 — <1 3 2 —
raw
Rice
Rice, brown, cooked — <1 <1 <1 <1 2 <1 —
Rice, brown, raw 55 76 7 5 <1 9 <1 <1
Rice, savory, cooked <1 2 1 2 <1 7 1 <1
Rice, white, long grain, — <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1
cooked
Rice, white, long grain, raw — <1 <1 7 2 5 <1 <1
a
Data are given as µg per 100 g wet weight; the data are the average of 3 different samples analyzed in duplicate. — indicates content was
below the limit of detection.
brown rice. These foods also contained the highest amount of this study, we showed that most breads analyzed contain mainly
total phytoestrogens in their respective group. soya-type isoflavones (daidzein, genistein, and glycitein) but
only small amounts of other isoflavones. Except for rye bread,
pumpernickel bread, and malt loaf, all breads contained more
DISCUSSION isoflavones than lignans, although most other cereal-based foods
Bread has been identified as one of the major dietary sources contained similar amounts or a higher proportion of lignans.
of phytoestrogens in the UK (34), and the main reason for this Thompson et al. (41) analyzed Canadian breads and found
is that soya is used in the preparation of many breads. This is similar, although slightly lower, amounts of lignans but only
also shown by the fact that the phytoestrogen content (in par- small amounts of isoflavones (1.5 µg/100 g), suggesting that
ticular, isoflavones) in flour is much lower than in bread. In the breads analyzed were prepared differently from the breads
PHYTOESTROGEN CONTENT OF CEREALS CONSUMED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 307
TABLE 2
Comparison of phytoestrogen content found in this study and content published previously by Adlercreutz & Mazur (43),
Horn-Ross et al. (42), Valsta et al. (44), and Thompson et al. (41)
Daidzein Genistein Secoisolariciresinol Matairesinol
Bread, white
This study 185 298 6 <1
Horn-Ross et al. 606 831 0 0
Valsta et al. <1 <1 20 14
Thompson et al. 0 1 1 0
Bread, rye
This study 8 13 21 9
Valsta et al. 0 0 32 44
Thompson et al. 0 3 122 0
Bread, whole meal
This study 209 333 19 <1
Horn-Ross et al. 156 142 <1 <1
Thompson et al. 0 0 3 0
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Rice
This study 0 <1 5 <1
Thompson et al. 1 1 0 0
Wheat meal, white
This study <1 0 6 <1
Adlercreutz & Mazur <1 <1 8 0
Wheat bran
This study <1 <1 5 <1
Adlercreutz & Mazur 7 4 110 0
Oatmeal
This study <1 <1 4 <1
Adlercreutz & Mazur 0 0 13 0
Oat bran
This study <1 <1 14 4
Adlercreutz & Mazur 0 0 24 155
available in the UK. In contrast, Horn-Ross et al. (42) analyzed strogen content much compared with white or whole wheat
breads from California and found isoflavone levels that were lasagna. In all types of pasta and noodles, cooking decreased
higher (for white bread) or slightly smaller (whole meal bread) the amount of isoflavones present; because of the small number
than those found here (see Table 2 for details). These results of samples, it is not possible to determine whether this differ-
emphasize the importance of food analyses of locally available ence is statistically significant. However, a similar pattern was
foods for the determination of dietary phytoestrogens. observed in rice. Surprisingly, the isoflavone content of brown
Most breakfast cereals contained less than 71 µg/100 g rice decreased more than 70-fold following cooking, and it is
phytoestrogens—mainly as lignans—with a few notable ex- likely that water soluble isoflavones have leached into the water
ceptions with a significantly higher phytoestrogen content during preparation, which was discarded afterward.
(luxury/extra fruit muesli: 5,156 µg/100 g; porridge oats: So far, few data on the phytoestrogen content in cereals
175 µg/100 g; and whole wheat flakes: 138 µg/100 g). Break- and cereal-based foods have been published. The only study
fast cereals are consumed by approximately 50% of the adult of a comprehensive selection of cereal-based foods by Liggins
(19–64 yr) population in the UK (1), and even though the av- et al. (9) analyzed exclusively daidzein and genistein but not any
erage phytoestrogen content (excluding luxury muesli) is only other isoflavones, lignans, or coumestrol and used the addition
41 µg/100 g, they are therefore an important food group con- method rather than stable 13 C-labeled standards for quantifica-
tributing to total phytoestrogen exposure. In pasta and noodles, tion. In other studies that have covered more compounds, only a
only small amounts of phytoestrogens were detected. Interest- very limited selection of these foods has been analyzed. For this
ingly, the spinach in green lasagna did not affect the phytoe- reason, it is difficult to compare results found here with results
308 G. G. C. KUHNLE ET AL.
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