An insight into the health benefits of fermented soy products

• Published in: Food chemistry 2019-01, Vol.271, p.362-371
• Main Authors: Jayachandran, Muthukumaran, Xu, Baojun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bioactive components; Cancer; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus - prevention & control; Fermentation; Fermented soy products; Glycine max; Humans; Nutritive Value; Soybean Proteins; Triglycerides
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.07.158

•The review discusses the nutritional and health benefits of different fermented soy products.•Fermentation plays an important role in increasing the physicochemical and sensory quality of soy products.•Miso, natto, and douchi are the extensively studied fermented soy product.•Fermentation improves the digestibility and isoflavone profiles. The current review was aimed to summarize the nutritional values and various health benefits of fermented soy products. Several previous researches proved that soy products rich in protein can reduce the serum concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and triglycerides if consumed instead of animal protein. Apart from these lipid-lowering effects, fermented soy products also proved to be effective in attenuating the effects of diabetes mellitus, blood pressure, cardiac disorders and cancer-related issues. The nutritional value of the fermented soy products gains much attention due to its increased levels compared to the non-fermented ones. The origin, compositions, nutritional values of different fermented soy products and health-promoting benefits of fermented soy products were systematically reviewed. Hence the in-depth analysis of the various research findings on fermented soy products, beneficial activities may help the future researchers to derive a conclusion on its beneficial effects on health.