Effect of dietary genistein on antioxidant enzyme activities in SENCAR mice.

Dietary administration of the soybean isoflavone genistein (50 and 250 ppm) for 30 days significantly increases the activities of antioxidant enzymes in various organs of SENCAR mice. Feeding a 250-ppm genistein diet to SENCAR mice significantly increases the activities of catalase in small intestine, liver, and kidney, the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in skin, and the activity of glutathione reductase in skin and small intestine. Feeding 50 ppm genistein to SENCAR mice results in elevated catalase activity in the small intestine and increases glutathione-S-transferase activities in skin, small intestine, liver, kidney, and lung. Dietary genistein's greatest enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activities occurred in skin and small intestine. Our results suggest that dietary genistein enhances the activities of antioxidant enzymes in various organs, which may be a mechanism(s) of genistein's chemopreventive action.