Isolation of radiolabeled isoflavones from kudzu (Pueraria lobata) root cultures.

Isoflavones have potential for preventing and treating several chronic health conditions, such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In this study, radiolabeled isoflavones were recovered from kudzu (Pueraria lobata) root cultures after incubation with uniformly labeled (14)C-sucrose in the culture medium for 21 days. Approximately 19% of administered label was recovered in the isoflavone-rich dried extracts of kudzu root cultures (90.2 microCi/g or 3.3 MBq/g extract). HPLC-PDA analysis revealed the predominant isoflavones isolated from kudzu root cultures to be puerarin, daidzin, and malonyl-daidzin. The average concentration of the major isoflavone puerarin in kudzu root cultures was 33.6 mg/g extract, with a specific activity of 63.5 microCi/g (2.3 MBq/g). The isolated isoflavones were sufficiently (14)C-labeled to permit utilization for subsequent in vivo metabolic tracking studies.