Isoflavone + curcumin cocktail cuts chance of prostate cancer

Isoflavone + curcumin cocktail cuts chance of prostate cancer
Source: Prostate. 2010 Jul 1;70(10):1127-33.


Men with a raised PSA level would probably benefit from a supplement containing both soya isoflavones and curcumin. Researchers at Teikyo University in Japan managed to show that this kind of supplement lowers the PSA level.

PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen, and this is a marker for inflammation in the prostate. The higher the level of inflammation - and the more PSA you have in your blood - the greater the chance that cancer cells will occur or develop in the prostate.

Most men develop prostate cancer at some stage in their life. Many will never notice it because the disease usually develops very slowly. Nevertheless, prostate cancer is an important cause of death in men. That's why a lot of research is being done on dietary and lifestyle factors that can reduce the chance of prostate cancer. The Japanese study comes under this category.

The researchers gave 43 men aged between 50 and 68 a supplement every day for six months. The supplement contained 40 mg isoflavones [66 percent daidzein, 24 percent glycitein and 10 percent genistein] and 100 mg curcumin. A similar-sized group were given a placebo. All the men had prostate problems.

The supplement reduced the PSA level – but only in the men whose PSA level was 10 or above. Doctors estimate that for men with a PSA of 4-10 ng/ml the chance of prostate cancer is 25 percent. At a PSA of 10 or above the likelihood of prostate cancer is at least 50 percent.


It's not impossible that the supplements tested may also have a preventive effect in younger men. Their testosterone levels are higher than those of the men in the study and, according to another study done by the same researchers, androgens enhance the PSA-inhibiting effect of the isoflavone/curcumin cocktail on the prostate.