Glycitin (glycitein 7-''O''-glucoside) is an
isoflavone
Isoflavones are a type of naturally-occurring isoflavonoids, many of which act as phytoestrogens in mammals. Isoflavones occur in many plant species, but are especially high in soybeans.
Although isoflavones and closely-related phytoestrogens ar ...
found in soy, and remains to various degrees in soy products like
tofu
or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...
,
soymilk and
soy sauce
Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...
. Although glycitin has its own health associated properties (below), it can be transformed to
glycitein
Glycitein is an O-methylated isoflavone which accounts for 5-10% of the total isoflavones in soy food products. Glycitein is a phytoestrogen with weak estrogenic activity, comparable to that of the other soy isoflavones.
Glycitin (glycitein 7-' ...
by human intestinal flora by the action of
beta-glucosidases.
Properties
Some interesting effects of glycitin include human
dermal fibroblast cell proliferation and migration via
TGF‐β signaling, glycitin treatment produces anti-
photoaging
Photoaging or photoageing (also known as "dermatoheliosis") is a term used for the characteristic changes to skin induced by chronic Ultraviolet, UVA and UVB exposure.
Effects of UV light
Molecular and genetic changes
UVB rays are a primary ...
effects such as
collagen type I and
collagen type III
Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals. It is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up 25% to 35% of protein content. Amino acids are bound together to form a trip ...
increase at both the mRNA and protein levels. Other noted effects decreased
elastase
In molecular biology, elastase is an enzyme from the class of proteases (peptidases) that break down proteins, specifically one that can break down elastin. In other words, the name only refers to the substrate specificity (i.e. what proteins i ...
, and decreased
β‐galactosidase activation. In conjunction with 4′,6,7-trimethoxyisoflavone (TMF), an isoflavone that promotes fibroblast migration but not proliferation,
wound healing
Wound healing refers to a living organism's replacement of destroyed or damaged tissue by newly produced tissue.
In undamaged skin, the epidermis (surface, epithelial layer) and dermis (deeper, connective layer) form a protective barrier again ...
and anti-
scarring
A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a nat ...
activity (reorganization and wound fibrosis inhibition) were significantly and synergistically boosted in both ''in vivo'' mice and ''in vitro''.
References
{{Soy
Glucosides
Isoflavones