Soybean

"Soy" redirects here. For other uses, see Soy (disambiguation).

Soybean
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Glycine
Species:	G. max
Binomial name
Glycine max (L.) Merr.
Synonyms
Dolichos soja L. Glycine angustifolia Miq. Glycine gracilis Skvortsov Glycine hispida (Moench) Maxim. Glycine soja sensu auct. Phaseolus max L. Soja angustifolia Miq. Soja hispida Moench Soja japonica Savi Soja max (L.) Piper Soja soja H. Karst. Soja viridis Savi

Soybean
Chinese name
Chinese	大豆
Literal meaning	"large bean"
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dàdòu IPA [tâ.tôʊ]
Southern Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	黃豆
Simplified Chinese	黄豆
Literal meaning	"yellow bean"
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin huángdòu Hakka Romanization vòng-theu Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization wòhng-dauh Jyutping wong4-dau6 IPA [wɔŋ˩ tɐw˨] Southern Min Hokkien POJ n̂g-tāu
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	đậu tương (or đỗ tương) đậu nành
Chữ Hán	豆漿
Chữ Nôm	豆𥢃
Korean name
Hangul	대두 (or 메주콩)
Hanja	大豆
showTranscriptions Revised Romanization daedu (or mejukong)
Japanese name
Kanji	大豆
Kana	ダイズ
showTranscriptions Romanization daizu

Beans for sale at a supermarket in China

The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.

Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and tofu skin are made. Fermented soy foods include soy sauce, fermented bean paste, nattō, and tempeh. Fat-free (defatted) soybean meal is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many packaged meals. For example, soybean products, such as textured vegetable protein (TVP), are ingredients in many meat and dairy substitutes.

Soybeans contain significant amounts of phytic acid, dietary minerals and B vitamins. Soy vegetable oil, used in food and industrial applications, is another product of processing the soybean crop. Soybean is the most important protein source for feed farm animals (that in turn yields animal protein for human consumption).

Etymology

The word "soy" originated as a corruption of the Cantonese or Japanese names for soy sauce (Chinese: 豉油; Jyutping: si6jau4; Cantonese Yale: sihyàuh) (Japanese: 醤油, shōyu).

The name of the genus, Glycine, comes from Linnaeus. When naming the genus, Linnaeus observed that one of the species within the genus had a sweet root. Based on the sweetness, the Greek word for sweet, glykós, was Latinized. The genus name is not related to the amino acid glycine.

Classification

The genus Glycine may be divided into two subgenera, Glycine and Soja. The subgenus Soja includes the cultivated soybean, G. max, and the wild soybean, treated either as a separate species G. soja, or as the subspecies G. max subsp. soja. The cultivated and wild soybeans are annuals. The wild soybean is native to China, Japan, Korea and Russia. The subgenus Glycine consists of at least 25 wild perennial species: for example, G. canescens and G. tomentella, both found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Perennial soybean (Neonotonia wightii) belongs to a different genus. It originated in Africa and is now a widespread pasture crop in the tropics.

Like some other crops of long domestication, the relationship of the modern soybean to wild-growing species can no longer be traced with any degree of certainty. It is a cultigen with a very large number of cultivars.

Description

Like most plants, soybeans grow in distinct morphological stages as they develop from seeds into fully mature plant.

Germination

The first stage of growth is germination, a method which first becomes apparent as a seed's radicle emerges. This is the first stage of root growth and occurs within the first 48 hours under ideal growing conditions. The first photosynthetic structures, the cotyledons, develop from the hypocotyl, the first plant structure to emerge from the soil. These cotyledons both act as leaves and as a source of nutrients for the immature plant, providing the seedling nutrition for its first 7 to 10 days.

Bhatmaas – Nepali fried soybeans

Maturation

The first true leaves develop as a pair of single blades. Subsequent to this first pair, mature nodes form compound leaves with three blades. Mature trifoliolate leaves, having three to four leaflets per leaf, are often between 6 and 15 cm (2+1⁄2 and 6 in) long and 2 and 7 cm (1 and 3 in) broad. Under ideal conditions, stem growth continues, producing new nodes every four days. Before flowering, roots can grow 2 cm (3⁄4 in) per day. If rhizobia are present, root nodulation begins by the time the third node appears. Nodulation typically continues for 8 weeks before the symbiotic infection process stabilizes. The final characteristics of a soybean plant are variable, with factors such as genetics, soil quality, and climate affecting its form; however, fully mature soybean plants are generally between 50 and 125 cm (20 and 50 in) in height and have rooting depths between 75 and 150 cm (30 and 60 in).

Flowering

Flowering is triggered by day length, often beginning once days become shorter than 12.8 hours. This trait is highly variable however, with different varieties reacting differently to changing day length. Soybeans form inconspicuous, self-fertile flowers which are borne in the axil of the leaf and are white, pink or purple. Though they do not require pollination, they are attractive to bees, because they produce nectar that is high in sugar content. Depending on the soybean variety, node growth may cease once flowering begins. Strains that continue nodal development after flowering are termed "indeterminates" and are best suited to climates with longer growing seasons. Often soybeans drop their leaves before the seeds are fully mature.

The fruit is a hairy pod that grows in clusters of three to five, each pod is 3–8 cm (1–3 in) long and usually contains two to four (rarely more) seeds 5–11 mm in diameter. Soybean seeds come in a wide variety of sizes and hull colors such as black, brown, yellow, and green. Variegated and bicolored seed coats are also common.

Seed resilience

The hull of the mature bean is hard, water-resistant, and protects the cotyledon and hypocotyl (or "germ") from damage. If the seed coat is cracked, the seed will not germinate. The scar, visible on the seed coat, is called the hilum (colors include black, brown, buff, gray and yellow) and at one end of the hilum is the micropyle, or small opening in the seed coat which can allow the absorption of water for sprouting.

Some seeds such as soybeans containing very high levels of protein can undergo desiccation, yet survive and revive after water absorption. A. Carl Leopold began studying this capability at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University in the mid-1980s. He found soybeans and corn to have a range of soluble carbohydrates protecting the seed's cell viability. Patents were awarded to him in the early 1990s on techniques for protecting biological membranes and proteins in the dry state.

Nitrogen-fixing ability

Like many legumes, soybeans can fix atmospheric nitrogen, due to the presence of symbiotic bacteria from the Rhizobia group.

Chemical composition

Together, protein and soybean oil content account for 56% of dry soybeans by weight (36% protein and 20% fat, table). The remainder consists of 30% carbohydrates, 9% water and 5% ash (table). Soybeans comprise approximately 8% seed coat or hull, 90% cotyledons and 2% hypocotyl axis or germ.

Nutrition

Further information: Soy protein

Soybean, mature seeds, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,866 kJ (446 kcal)
Carbohydrates	30.16 g
Sugars	7.33 g
Dietary fiber	9.3 g
Fat	19.94 g
Saturated	2.884 g
Monounsaturated	4.404 g
Polyunsaturated omega‑3 omega‑6	11.255 g 1.330 g 9.925 g
Protein	36.49 g
Tryptophan	0.591 g
Threonine	1.766 g
Isoleucine	1.971 g
Leucine	3.309 g
Lysine	2.706 g
Methionine	0.547 g
Cystine	0.655 g
Phenylalanine	2.122 g
Tyrosine	1.539 g
Valine	2.029 g
Arginine	3.153 g
Histidine	1.097 g
Alanine	1.915 g
Aspartic acid	5.112 g
Glutamic acid	7.874 g
Glycine	1.880 g
Proline	2.379 g
Serine	2.357 g
show Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Vitamin A equiv. 0% 1 μg Thiamine (B1) 73% 0.874 mg Riboflavin (B2) 67% 0.87 mg Niacin (B3) 10% 1.623 mg Pantothenic acid (B5) 16% 0.793 mg Vitamin B6 22% 0.377 mg Folate (B9) 94% 375 μg Choline 21% 115.9 mg Vitamin C 7% 6.0 mg Vitamin E 6% 0.85 mg Vitamin K 39% 47 μg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 21% 277 mg Copper 184% 1.658 mg Iron 87% 15.7 mg Magnesium 67% 280 mg Manganese 109% 2.517 mg Phosphorus 56% 704 mg Potassium 60% 1797 mg Sodium 0% 2 mg Zinc 44% 4.89 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	8.54 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Link to USDA FoodData Central Entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

A 100-gram reference quantity of raw soybeans supplies 1,866 kilojoules (446 kilocalories) of food energy and are 9% water, 30% carbohydrates, 20% total fat and 36% protein (table).

Soybeans are a rich source of essential nutrients, providing in a 100-gram serving (raw, for reference) high contents of the Daily Value (DV) especially for protein (36% DV), dietary fiber (37%), iron (121%), manganese (120%), phosphorus (101%) and several B vitamins, including folate (94%) (table). High contents also exist for vitamin K, magnesium, zinc and potassium (table).

For human consumption, soybeans must be processed prior to consumption–either by cooking, roasting, or fermenting–to destroy the trypsin inhibitors (serine protease inhibitors). Raw soybeans, including the immature green form, are toxic to all monogastric animals.

Protein

Further information: Complete protein, Protein quality, and Soy protein

Most soy protein is a relatively heat-stable storage protein. This heat stability enables soy food products requiring high temperature cooking, such as tofu, soy milk and textured vegetable protein (soy flour) to be made. Soy protein is essentially identical to the protein of other legume seeds and pulses.

Soy is a good source of protein for vegetarians and vegans or for people who want to reduce the amount of meat they eat, according to the US Food and Drug Administration:

Soy protein products can be good substitutes for animal products because, unlike some other beans, soy offers a 'complete' protein profile. ... Soy protein products can replace animal-based foods—which also have complete proteins but tend to contain more fat, especially saturated fat—without requiring major adjustments elsewhere in the diet.

Although soybeans have high protein content, soybeans also contain high levels of protease inhibitors, which can prevent digestion. Protease inhibitors are reduced by cooking soybeans, and are present in low levels in soy products such as tofu and soy milk.

The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of soy protein is the nutritional equivalent of meat, eggs, and casein for human growth and health. Soybean protein isolate has a biological value of 74, whole soybeans 96, soybean milk 91, and eggs 97.

Graded seed

All spermatophytes, except for the family of grasses and cereals (Poaceae), contain 7S (vicilin) and 11S (legumin) soy protein-like globulin storage proteins; or only one of these globulin proteins. S denotes Svedberg, sedimentation coefficients. Oats and rice are anomalous in that they also contain a majority of soybean-like protein. Cocoa, for example, contains the 7S globulin, which contributes to cocoa/chocolate taste and aroma, whereas coffee beans (coffee grounds) contain the 11S globulin responsible for coffee's aroma and flavor.

Vicilin and legumin proteins belong to the cupin superfamily, a large family of functionally diverse proteins that have a common origin and whose evolution can be followed from bacteria to eukaryotes including animals and higher plants.

2S albumins form a major group of homologous storage proteins in many dicot species and in some monocots but not in grasses (cereals). Soybeans contain a small but significant 2S storage protein. 2S albumin are grouped in the prolamin superfamily. Other allergenic proteins included in this 'superfamily' are the non-specific plant lipid transfer proteins, alpha amylase inhibitor, trypsin inhibitors, and prolamin storage proteins of cereals and grasses.

Peanuts, for instance, contain 20% 2S albumin but only 6% 7S globulin and 74% 11S. It is the high 2S albumin and low 7S globulin that is responsible for the relatively low lysine content of peanut protein compared to soy protein.

Carbohydrates

The principal soluble carbohydrates of mature soybeans are the disaccharide sucrose (range 2.5–8.2%), the trisaccharide raffinose (0.1–1.0%) composed of one sucrose molecule connected to one molecule of galactose, and the tetrasaccharide stachyose (1.4 to 4.1%) composed of one sucrose connected to two molecules of galactose. While the oligosaccharides raffinose and stachyose protect the viability of the soybean seed from desiccation (see above section on physical characteristics) they are not digestible sugars, so contribute to flatulence and abdominal discomfort in humans and other monogastric animals, comparable to the disaccharide trehalose. Undigested oligosaccharides are broken down in the intestine by native microbes, producing gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane.

Since soluble soy carbohydrates are found in the whey and are broken down during fermentation, soy concentrate, soy protein isolates, tofu, soy sauce, and sprouted soybeans are without flatus activity. On the other hand, there may be some beneficial effects to ingesting oligosaccharides such as raffinose and stachyose, namely, encouraging indigenous bifidobacteria in the colon against putrefactive bacteria.

The insoluble carbohydrates in soybeans consist of the complex polysaccharides cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. The majority of soybean carbohydrates can be classed as belonging to dietary fiber.

Fats

Raw soybeans are 20% fat, including saturated fat (3%), monounsaturated fat (4%) and polyunsaturated fat, mainly as linoleic acid (table).

Within soybean oil or the lipid portion of the seed is contained four phytosterols: stigmasterol, sitosterol, campesterol, and brassicasterol accounting for about 2.5% of the lipid fraction; and which can be converted into steroid hormones. Additionally soybeans are a rich source of sphingolipids.

Other constituents

Soy contains isoflavones—polyphenolic compounds, produced by legumes including peanuts and chickpeas. Isoflavones are closely related to flavonoids found in other plants, vegetables and flowers.

Soy contains the phytoestrogen coumestans, also are found in beans and split-peas, with the best sources being alfalfa, clover, and soybean sprouts. Coumestrol, an isoflavone coumarin derivative, is the only coumestan in foods.

Saponins, a class of natural surfactants (soaps), are sterols that are present in small amounts in various plant foods, including soybeans, other legumes, and cereals, such as oats.

Comparison to other major staple foods

The following table shows the nutrient content of green soybean and other major staple foods, each in respective raw form on a dry weight basis to account for their different water contents. Raw soybeans, however, are not edible and cannot be digested. These must be sprouted, or prepared and cooked for human consumption. In sprouted and cooked form, the relative nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of each of these grains is remarkably different from that of raw form of these grains reported in this table. The nutritional value of soybean and each cooked staple depends on the processing and the method of cooking: boiling, frying, roasting, baking, etc.

Nutrient content of 10 major staple foods per 100 g dry weight

Staple	Maize (corn)[A]	Rice, white[B]	Wheat[C]	Potatoes[D]	Cassava[E]	Soybeans, green[F]	Sweet potatoes[G]	Yams[Y]	Sorghum[H]	Plantain[Z]	RDA
Water content (%)	10	12	13	79	60	68	77	70	9	65
Raw grams per 100 g dry weight	111	114	115	476	250	313	435	333	110	286
Nutrient
Energy (kJ)	1698	1736	1574	1533	1675	1922	1565	1647	1559	1460	8,368–10,460
Protein (g)	10.4	8.1	14.5	9.5	3.5	40.6	7.0	5.0	12.4	3.7	50
Fat (g)	5.3	0.8	1.8	0.4	0.7	21.6	0.2	0.6	3.6	1.1	44–77
Carbohydrates (g)	82	91	82	81	95	34	87	93	82	91	130
Fiber (g)	8.1	1.5	14.0	10.5	4.5	13.1	13.0	13.7	6.9	6.6	30
Sugar (g)	0.7	0.1	0.5	3.7	4.3	0.0	18.2	1.7	0.0	42.9	minimal
Minerals	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Calcium (mg)	8	32	33	57	40	616	130	57	31	9	1,000
Iron (mg)	3.01	0.91	3.67	3.71	0.68	11.09	2.65	1.80	4.84	1.71	8
Magnesium (mg)	141	28	145	110	53	203	109	70	0	106	400
Phosphorus (mg)	233	131	331	271	68	606	204	183	315	97	700
Potassium (mg)	319	131	417	2005	678	1938	1465	2720	385	1426	4700
Sodium (mg)	39	6	2	29	35	47	239	30	7	11	1,500
Zinc (mg)	2.46	1.24	3.05	1.38	0.85	3.09	1.30	0.80	0.00	0.40	11
Copper (mg)	0.34	0.25	0.49	0.52	0.25	0.41	0.65	0.60	-	0.23	0.9
Manganese (mg)	0.54	1.24	4.59	0.71	0.95	1.72	1.13	1.33	-	-	2.3
Selenium (μg)	17.2	17.2	81.3	1.4	1.8	4.7	2.6	2.3	0.0	4.3	55
Vitamins	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Vitamin C (mg)	0.0	0.0	0.0	93.8	51.5	90.6	10.4	57.0	0.0	52.6	90
Thiamin (B1) (mg)	0.43	0.08	0.34	0.38	0.23	1.38	0.35	0.37	0.26	0.14	1.2
Riboflavin (B2) (mg)	0.22	0.06	0.14	0.14	0.13	0.56	0.26	0.10	0.15	0.14	1.3
Niacin (B3) (mg)	4.03	1.82	6.28	5.00	2.13	5.16	2.43	1.83	3.22	1.97	16
Pantothenic acid (B5) (mg)	0.47	1.15	1.09	1.43	0.28	0.47	3.48	1.03	-	0.74	5
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.69	0.18	0.34	1.43	0.23	0.22	0.91	0.97	-	0.86	1.3
Folate Total (B9) (μg)	21	9	44	76	68	516	48	77	0	63	400
Vitamin A (IU)	238	0	10	10	33	563	4178	460	0	3220	5000
Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol (mg)	0.54	0.13	1.16	0.05	0.48	0.00	1.13	1.30	0.00	0.40	15
Vitamin K1 (μg)	0.3	0.1	2.2	9.0	4.8	0.0	7.8	8.7	0.0	2.0	120
Beta-carotene (μg)	108	0	6	5	20	0	36996	277	0	1306	10500
Lutein+zeaxanthin (μg)	1506	0	253	38	0	0	0	0	0	86	6000
Fats	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA
Saturated fatty acids (g)	0.74	0.20	0.30	0.14	0.18	2.47	0.09	0.13	0.51	0.40	minimal
Monounsaturated fatty acids (g)	1.39	0.24	0.23	0.00	0.20	4.00	0.00	0.03	1.09	0.09	22–55
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (g)	2.40	0.20	0.72	0.19	0.13	10.00	0.04	0.27	1.51	0.20	13–19
	[A]	[B]	[C]	[D]	[E]	[F]	[G]	[Y]	[H]	[Z]	RDA

^A raw yellow dent corn
^B raw unenriched long-grain white rice
^C raw hard red winter wheat
^D raw potato with flesh and skin
^E raw cassava
^F raw green soybeans
^G raw sweet potato
^H raw sorghum
^Y raw yam
^Z raw plantains
^/* unofficial

Cultivation

United States

Uses

During World War II, soybeans became important in both North America and Europe chiefly as substitutes for other protein foods and as a source of edible oil. During the war, the soybean was discovered as fertilizer due to nitrogen fixation by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Conditions

Argentina

Cultivation is successful in climates with hot summers, with optimum growing conditions in mean temperatures of 20 to 30 °C (70 to 85 °F); temperatures of below 20 °C (70 °F) and over 40 °C (105 °F) stunt growth significantly. They can grow in a wide range of soils, with optimum growth in moist alluvial soils with good organic content. Soybeans, like most legumes, perform nitrogen fixation by establishing a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum (syn. Rhizobium japonicum; Jordan 1982). This ability to fix nitrogen allows farmers to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use and increase yields when growing other crops in rotation with soy. There may be some trade-offs, however, in the long-term abundance of organic material in soils where soy and other crops (for example, corn) are grown in rotation. For best results, though, an inoculum of the correct strain of bacteria should be mixed with the soybean (or any legume) seed before planting. Modern crop cultivars generally reach a height of around 1 m (3 ft), and take 80–120 days from sowing to harvesting.

Soils

Soil scientists Edson Lobato (Brazil), Andrew McClung (U.S.), and Alysson Paolinelli (Brazil) were awarded the 2006 World Food Prize for transforming the ecologically biodiverse savannah of the Cerrado region of Brazil into highly productive cropland that could grow profitable soybeans.

Soybean rust

Contamination concerns

Human sewage sludge can be used as fertilizer to grow soybeans. Soybeans grown in sewage sludge likely contain elevated concentrations of metals.

Pests

Further information: List of soybean diseases

Soybean plants are vulnerable to a wide range of bacterial diseases, fungal diseases, viral diseases, and parasites.

Bacteria

The primary bacterial diseases include bacterial blight, bacterial pustule and downy mildew affecting the soybean plant.

Animals

The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) poses a significant threat to agricultural crops, including soybeans, due to its voracious feeding habits. Found commonly in both urban and suburban areas, these beetles are frequently observed in agricultural landscapes where they can cause considerable damage to crops like corn, soybeans, and various fruits.

Nematodes

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the worst pest of soybean in the US. Losses of 30% or 40% are common even without symptoms.

Arthropods

Insects

The corn earworm moth and bollworm (Helicoverpa zea) is a common and destructive pest of soybean growth in Virginia.

Vertebrates

Mammals

Soybeans are consumed by whitetail deer which may damage soybean plants through feeding, trampling and bedding, reducing crop yields by as much as 15%. Groundhogs are also a common pest in soybean fields, living in burrows underground and feeding nearby. One den of groundhogs can consume a tenth to a quarter of an acre of soybeans. Chemical repellents or firearms are effective for controlling pests in soybean fields.

Fungi

Soybeans suffer from Pythium spinosum in Arkansas and Indiana (United States), and China.

Cultivars

Disease resistant cultivars

Resistant varieties are available. In Indian cultivars, Nataraj et al. 2020 find that anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum truncatum is resisted by a combination of 2 major genes.

PI 88788

The vast majority of cultivars in the US have soybean cyst nematode resistance (SCN resistance), but rely on only one breeding line (PI 88788) as their sole source of resistance. (The resistance genes provided by PI 88788, Peking, and PI 90763 were characterized in 1997.) As a result, for example, in 2012 only 18 cultivars out of 807 recommended by the Iowa State University Extension had any ancestry outside of PI 88788. By 2020 the situation was still about the same: Of 849 there were 810 with some ancestry from PI 88788, 35 from Peking, and only 2 from PI 89772. (On the question of exclusively PI 88788 ancestry, that number was not available for 2020.) That was speculated to be in 2012—and was clearly by 2020—producing SCN populations that are virulent on PI 88788.

Production

Main article: List of countries by soybean production

Soybean production – 2020
Country	Production (millions of tonnes)
Brazil	122
United States	113
Argentina	49
China	20
India	11
Paraguay	11
World	353
Source: FAOSTAT

In 2020, world production of soybeans was over 353 million tonnes, led by Brazil and the United States combined with 66% of the total (table). Production has dramatically increased across the globe since the 1960s, but particularly in South America after a cultivar that grew well in low latitudes was developed in the 1980s. The rapid growth of the industry has been primarily fueled by large increases in worldwide demand for meat products, particularly in developing countries like China, which alone accounts for more than 60% of imports.

Environmental issues

See also: Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest

In spite of the Amazon "Soy Moratorium", soy production continues to play a significant role in deforestation when its indirect impacts are taken into account, as land used to grow soy continues to increase. This land either comes from pasture land (which increasingly supplants forested areas), or areas outside the Amazon not covered by the moratorium, such as the Cerrado region. Roughly one-fifth of deforestation can be attributed to expanding land use to produce oilseeds, primarily for soy and palm oil, whereas the expansion of beef production accounts for 41%. The main driver of deforestation is the global demand for meat, which in turn requires huge tracts of land to grow feed crops for livestock. Around 80% of the global soybean crop is used to feed livestock.

History

Soybeans were a crucial crop in East Asia long before written records began. The origin of soy bean cultivation remains scientifically debated. The closest living relative of the soybean is Glycine soja (previously called G. ussuriensis), a legume native to central China. There is evidence for soybean domestication between 7000 and 6600 BC in China, between 5000 and 3000 BC in Japan and 1000 BC in Korea.

The first unambiguously domesticated, cultigen-sized soybean was discovered in Korea at the Mumun-period Daundong site. Prior to fermented products such as fermented black soybeans (douchi), jiang (Chinese miso), soy sauce, tempeh, nattō, and miso, soy was considered sacred for its beneficial effects in crop rotation, and it was eaten by itself, and as bean curd and soy milk.

Soybeans were introduced to Java in Malay Archipelago circa 13th century or probably earlier. By the 17th century through their trade with Far East, soybeans and its products were traded by European traders (Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch) in Asia, and reached Indian Subcontinent by this period. By the 18th century, soybeans were introduced to the Americas and Europe from China. Soy was introduced to Africa from China in the late 19th century, and is now widespread across the continent.

East Asia

Seikei Zusetsu (1804)

The cultivation of soybeans began in the eastern half of northern China by 2000 BC, but is almost certainly much older. The earliest documented evidence for the use of Glycine of any kind comes from charred plant remains of wild soybean recovered from Jiahu in Henan province China, a Neolithic site occupied between 9000 and 7800 calendar years ago (cal bp). An abundance of archeological charred soybean specimens have been found centered around this region.

According to the ancient Chinese myth, in 2853 BC, the legendary Emperor Shennong of China proclaimed that five plants were sacred: soybeans, rice, wheat, barley, and millet. Early Chinese records mention that soybeans were a gift from the region of Yangtze River delta and Southeast China. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia claims soybean cultivation originated in China about 5000 years ago. Some scholars suggest that soybean originated in China and was domesticated about 3500 BC. Recent research, however, indicates that seeding of wild forms started early (before 5000 BC) in multiple locations throughout East Asia.

Soybeans became an important crop by the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC) in China. However, the details of where, when, and under what circumstances soybean developed a close relationship with people are poorly understood. Soybean was unknown in South China before the Han period. From about the first century AD to the Age of Discovery (15–16th centuries), soybeans were introduced into across South and Southeast Asia. This spread was due to the establishment of sea and land trade routes. The earliest Japanese textual reference to the soybean is in the classic Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), which was completed in AD 712.

The oldest preserved soybeans resembling modern varieties in size and shape were found in archaeological sites in Korea dated about 1000 BC. Radiocarbon dating of soybean samples recovered through flotation during excavations at the Early Mumun period Okbang site in Korea indicated soybean was cultivated as a food crop in around 1000–900 BC. Soybeans from the Jōmon period in Japan from 3000 BC are also significantly larger than wild varieties.

Southeast Asia

Soybeans were mentioned as kadêlê (modern Indonesian term: kedelai) in an old Javanese manuscript, Serat Sri Tanjung, which dates to 12th- to 13th-century Java. By the 13th century, the soybean had arrived and cultivated in Indonesia; it probably arrived much earlier however, carried by traders or merchants from Southern China.

The earliest known reference to it as "tempeh" appeared in 1815 in the Serat Centhini manuscript. The development of tempeh fermented soybean cake probably took place earlier, circa 17th century in Java.

Indian subcontinent

By the 1600s, soy sauce spread from southern Japan across the region through the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

From a high-altitude area of Nepal

India

The soybean probably arrived from southern China, moving southwest into northern parts of Indian subcontinent by this period.

Iberia

In 1603, "Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam", a famous Japanese-Portuguese dictionary, was compiled and published by Jesuit priests in Nagasaki. It contains short but clear definitions for about 20 words related to soyfoods—the first in any European language.

The Luso-Hispanic traders were familiar with soybeans and soybean product through their trade with Far East since at least the 17th century. However, it was not until the late 19th century that the first attempt to cultivate soybeans in the Iberian peninsula was undertaken. In 1880, the soybean was first cultivated in Portugal in the Botanical Gardens at Coimbra (Crespi 1935).

In about 1910 in Spain the first attempts at Soybean cultivation were made by the Count of San Bernardo, who cultivated soybeans on his estates at Almillo (in southwest Spain) about 48 miles east-northeast of Seville.

North America

Soybeans were first introduced to North America from China in 1765, by Samuel Bowen, a former East India Company sailor who had visited China in conjunction with James Flint, the first Englishman legally permitted by the Chinese authorities to learn Chinese. The first "New World" soybean crop was grown on Skidaway Island, Georgia, in 1765 by Henry Yonge from seeds given him by Samuel Bowen. Bowen grew soy near Savannah, Georgia, possibly using funds from Flint, and made soy sauce for sale to England. Although soybean was introduced into North America in 1765, for the next 155 years, the crop was grown primarily for forage.

In 1831, the first soy product "a few dozen India Soy" [sauce] arrived in Canada. Soybeans were probably first cultivated in Canada by 1855, and definitely in 1895 at Ontario Agricultural College.

It was not until Lafayette Mendel and Thomas Burr Osborne showed that the nutritional value of soybean seeds could be increased by cooking, moisture or heat, that soy went from a farm animal feed to a human food.

William Morse is considered the "father" of modern soybean agriculture in America. In 1910, he and Charles Piper (Dr. C. V. Piper) began to popularize what was regarded as a relatively unknown Oriental peasant crop in America into a "golden bean", with the soybean becoming one of America's largest and most nutritious farm crops.

Prior to the 1920s in the US, the soybean was mainly a forage crop, a source of oil, meal (for feed) and industrial products, with very little used as food. However, it took on an important role after World War I. During the Great Depression, the drought-stricken (Dust Bowl) regions of the United States were able to use soy to regenerate their soil because of its nitrogen-fixing properties. Farms were increasing production to meet with government demands, and Henry Ford became a promoter of soybeans. In 1931, Ford hired chemists Robert Boyer and Frank Calvert to produce artificial silk. They succeeded in making a textile fiber of spun soy protein fibers, hardened or tanned in a formaldehyde bath, which was given the name Azlon. It never reached the commercial market. Soybean oil was used by Ford in paint for the automobiles, as well as a fluid for shock absorbers.

Prior to the 1970s, Asian-Americans and Seventh-Day Adventists were essentially the only users of soy foods in the United States. "The soy foods movement began in small pockets of the counterculture, notably the Tennessee commune named simply The Farm, but by the mid-1970s a vegetarian revival helped it gain momentum and even popular awareness through books such as The Book of Tofu."

Although practically unseen in 1900, by 2000 soybean plantings covered more than 70 million acres, second only to corn, and it became America's largest cash crop. In 2021, 87,195 acres were planted, with the largest acreage in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Caribbean and West Indies

The soybean arrived in the Caribbean in the form of soy sauce made by Samuel Bowen in Savannah, Georgia, in 1767. It remains only a minor crop there, but its uses for human food are growing steadily.

Mediterranean area

The soybean was first cultivated in Italy by 1760 in the Botanical Garden of Turin. During the 1780s, it was grown in at least three other botanical gardens in Italy. The first soybean product, soy oil, arrived in Anatolia during 1909 under Ottoman Empire. The first clear cultivation occurred in 1931. This was also the first time that soybeans were cultivated in Middle East. By 1939, soybeans were cultivated in Greece.

Australia

Wild soybeans were discovered in northeastern Australia in 1770 by explorers Banks and Solander. In 1804, the first soyfood product ("Fine India Soy" [sauce]) was sold in Sydney. In 1879, the first domesticated soybeans arrived in Australia, a gift of the Minister of the Interior Department, Japan.

France

The soybean was first cultivated in France by 1779 (and perhaps as early as 1740). The two key early people and organizations introducing the soybean to France were the Society of Acclimatization (starting in 1855) and Li Yu-ying (from 1910). Li started a large tofu factory, where the first commercial soyfoods in France were made.

Africa

The soybean first arrived in Africa via Egypt in 1857. Soya Meme (Baked Soya) is produced in the village called Bame Awudome near Ho, the capital of the Volta Region of Ghana, by the Ewe people of Southeastern Ghana and southern Togo.

Central Europe

In 1873, Professor Friedrich J. Haberlandt first became interested in soybeans when he obtained the seeds of 19 soybean varieties at the Vienna World Exposition (Wiener Weltausstellung). He cultivated these seeds in Vienna, and soon began to distribute them throughout Central and Western Europe. In 1875, he first grew the soybeans in Vienna, then in early 1876 he sent samples of seeds to seven cooperators in central Europe, who planted and tested the seeds in the spring of 1876, with good or fairly good results in each case. Most of the farmers who received seeds from him cultivated them, then reported their results. Starting in February 1876, he published these results first in various journal articles, and finally in his magnum opus, Die Sojabohne (The Soybean) in 1878. In northern Europe, lupin (lupine) is known as the "soybean of the north".

Central Asia

The soybean is first in cultivated Transcaucasia in Central Asia in 1876, by the Dungans. This region has never been important for soybean production.

Central America

The first reliable reference to the soybean in this region dates from Mexico in 1877.

South America

The soybean first arrived in South America in Argentina in 1882.

Andrew McClung showed in the early 1950s that with soil amendments the Cerrado region of Brazil would grow soybeans. In June 1973, when soybean futures markets mistakenly portended a major shortage, the Nixon administration imposed an embargo on soybean exports. It lasted only a week, but Japanese buyers felt that they could not rely on U.S. supplies, and the rival Brazilian soybean industry came into existence. This led Brazil to become the world's largest producer of soybeans in 2020, with 131 million tons.

Industrial soy production in South America is characterized by wealthy management who live far away from the production site which they manage remotely. In Brazil, these managers depend heavily on advanced technology and machinery, and agronomic practices such as zero tillage, high pesticide use, and intense fertilization. One contributing factor is the increased attention on the Brazilian Cerrado in Bahia, Brazil by US farmers in the early 2000s. This was due to rising values of scarce farmland and high production costs in the US Midwest. There were many promotions of the Brazilian Cerrado by US farm producer magazines and market consultants who portrayed it as having cheap land with ideal production conditions, with infrastructure being the only thing it was lacking. These same magazines also presented Brazilian soy as inevitably out-competing American soy. Another draw to investing was the insider information about the climate and market in Brazil. A few dozen American farmers purchased varying amounts of land by a variety of means including finding investors and selling off land holdings. Many followed the ethanol company model and formed an LLC with investments from neighboring farmers, friends, and family while some turned to investment companies. Some soy farmers either liquidated their Brazilian assets or switched to remote management from the US to return to farming there and implement new farming and business practices to make their US farms more productive. Others planned to sell their now expensive Bahia land to buy land cheaper land in the frontier regions of Piauí or Tocantins to create more soybean farms.

Genetics

Chinese landraces were found to have a slightly higher genetic diversity than inbred lines by Li et al., 2010. Specific locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) has been used by Han et al., 2015 to study the genetic history of the domestication process, perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of agronomically relevant traits, and produce high-density linkage maps. An SNP array was developed by Song et al., 2013 and has been used for research and breeding; the same team applied their array in Song et al., 2015 against the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection and obtained mapping data that are expected to yield association mapping data for such traits.

Rpp1-R1 is a resistance gene against soybean rust. Rpp1-R1 is an R gene (NB-LRR) providing resistance against the rust pathogen Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Its synthesis product includes a ULP1 protease.

Qijian et al., 2017 provides the SoySNP50K gene array.

Genetic modification

Further information: Genetically modified soybean

Different varieties of soybeans being grown together

Soybeans are one of the "biotech food" crops that have been genetically modified, and genetically modified soybeans are being used in an increasing number of products. In 1995, Monsanto company introduced glyphosate-tolerant soybeans that have been genetically modified to be resistant to Monsanto's glyphosate herbicides through substitution of the Agrobacterium sp. (strain CP4) gene EPSP (5-enolpyruvyl shikimic acid-3-phosphate) synthase. The substituted version is not sensitive to glyphosate.

In 1997, about 8% of all soybeans cultivated for the commercial market in the United States were genetically modified. In 2010, the figure was 93%. As with other glyphosate-tolerant crops, concern is expressed over damage to biodiversity. A 2003 study concluded the "Roundup Ready" (RR) gene had been bred into so many different soybean cultivars, there had been little decline in genetic diversity, but "diversity was limited among elite lines from some companies".

The widespread use of such types of GM soybeans in the Americas has caused problems with exports to some regions. GM crops require extensive certification before they can be legally imported into the European Union, where there is considerable supplier and consumer reluctance to use GM products for consumer or animal use. Difficulties with coexistence and subsequent traces of cross-contamination of non-GM stocks have caused shipments to be rejected and have put a premium on non-GM soy.

A 2006 United States Department of Agriculture report found the adoption of genetically engineered (GE) soy, corn and cotton reduced the amount of pesticides used overall, but did result in a slightly greater amount of herbicides used for soy specifically. The use of GE soy was also associated with greater conservation tillage, indirectly leading to better soil conservation, as well as increased income from off-farming sources due to the greater ease with which the crops can be managed. Though the overall estimated benefits of the adoption of GE soybeans in the United States was $310 million, the majority of this benefit was experienced by the companies selling the seeds (40%), followed by biotechnology firms (28%) and farmers (20%). The patent on glyphosate-tolerant soybeans expired in 2014, so benefits can be expected to shift.

Uses

Tofu and soy sauce

Among the legumes, the soybean is valued for its high (38–45%) protein content as well as its high (approximately 20%) oil content. Soybeans are the most valuable agricultural export of the United States. Approximately 85% of the world's soybean crop is processed into soybean meal and soybean oil, the remainder processed in other ways or eaten whole.

Soybeans can be broadly classified as "vegetable" (garden) or field (oil) types. Vegetable types cook more easily, have a mild, nutty flavor, and better texture, are larger in size, higher in protein, and are lower in oil than field types. Tofu, soy milk, and soy sauce are among the top edible commodities made using soybeans. Producers prefer the higher protein cultivars bred from vegetable soybeans originally brought to the United States in the late 1930s. The "garden" cultivars are generally not suitable for mechanical combine harvesting because there is a tendency for the pods to shatter upon reaching maturity.

Soybean oil

Main article: Soybean oil

Soybean seed contains 18–19% oil. To extract soybean oil from seed, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, rolled into flakes, and solvent-extracted with commercial hexane. The oil is then refined, blended for different applications, and sometimes hydrogenated. Soybean oils, both liquid and partially hydrogenated, are exported abroad, sold as "vegetable oil," or end up in a wide variety of processed foods.

Soybean meal

Main article: Soybean meal

Soybean meal, or soymeal, is the material remaining after solvent extraction of oil from soybean flakes, with a 50% soy protein content. The meal is 'toasted' (a misnomer because the heat treatment is with moist steam) and ground in a hammer mill. Ninety-seven percent of soybean meal production globally is used as livestock feed. Soybean meal is also used in some dog foods.

Livestock feed

One of the major uses of soybeans globally is as livestock feed, predominantly in the form of soybean meal. In the European Union, for example, though it does not make up most of the weight of livestock feed, soybean meal provides around 60% of the protein fed to livestock. In the United States, however, 70 percent of soybean production is used for animal feed, with poultry being the number one livestock sector of soybean consumption. Spring grasses are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, whereas soy is predominantly omega-6. The soybean hulls, which mainly consist of the outer coats of the beans removed before oil extraction, can also be fed to livestock and whole soybean seeds after processing.

Food for human consumption

Tempeh

In addition to their use in livestock feed, soybean products are widely used for human consumption. Common soybean products include soy sauce, soy milk, tofu, soy meal, soy flour, textured vegetable protein (TVP), soy curls, tempeh, soy lecithin and soybean oil. Soybeans may also be eaten with minimal processing, for example, in the Japanese food edamame (枝豆, edamame), in which immature soybeans are boiled whole in their pods and served with salt.

Soy chunks

In China, Japan, Vietnam and Korea, soybean and soybean products are a standard part of the diet. Tofu (豆腐 dòufu) is thought to have originated in China, along with soy sauce and several varieties of soybean paste used as seasonings. Japanese foods made from soya include miso (味噌), nattō (納豆), kinako (黄粉) and edamame (枝豆), as well as products made with tofu such as atsuage and aburaage. In China, whole dried soybeans are sold in supermarkets and used to cook various dishes, usually after rehydration by soaking in water; they find their use in soup or as a savory dish. In Korean cuisine, soybean sprouts (콩나물 kongnamul) are used in a variety of dishes, and soybeans are the base ingredient in doenjang, cheonggukjang and ganjang. In Vietnam, soybeans are used to make soybean paste (tương) in the North with the most popular products are tương Bần, tương Nam Đàn, tương Cự Đà as a garnish for phở and gỏi cuốn dishes, as well as tofu (đậu hũ or đậu phụ or tàu hũ), soy sauce (nước tương), soy milk (nước đậu in the North or sữa đậu nành in the South), and đậu hũ nước đường (tofu sweet soup).

Flour

Japanese soybean meat

Soy flour refers to soybeans ground finely enough to pass through a 100-mesh or smaller screen where special care was taken during desolventizing (not toasted) to minimize denaturation of the protein to retain a high protein dispersibility index, for uses such as food extrusion of textured vegetable protein. It is the starting material for soy concentrate and protein isolate production.

Soy flour can also be made by roasting the soybean, removing the coat (hull), and grinding it into flour. Soy flour is manufactured with different fat levels. Alternatively, raw soy flour omits the roasting step.

• Defatted soy flour is obtained from solvent extracted flakes and contains less than 1% oil.
• "Natural or full-fat soy flour is made from unextracted, dehulled beans and contains about 18% to 20% oil." Its high oil content requires the use of a specialized Alpine Fine Impact Mill to grind rather than the usual hammer mill. Full-fat soy flour has a lower protein concentration than defatted flour. Extruded full-fat soy flour, ground in an Alpine mill, can replace/extend eggs in baking and cooking. Full-fat soy flour is a component of the famous Cornell bread recipe.
• Low-fat soy flour is made by adding some oil back into defatted soy flour. Fat levels range from 4.5% to 9%.
• High-fat soy flour can also be produced by adding back soybean oil to defatted flour, usually at 15%.

Soy lecithin can be added (up to 15%) to soy flour to make lecithinated soy flour. It increases dispersibility and gives it emulsifying properties.

Soy flour has 50% protein and 5% fiber. It has higher levels of protein, thiamine, riboflavin, phosphorus, calcium, and iron than wheat flour. It does not contain gluten. As a result, yeast-raised breads made with soy flour are dense in texture. Among many uses, soy flour thickens sauces, prevents staling in baked food, and reduces oil absorption during frying. Baking food with soy flour gives it tenderness, moistness, a rich color, and a fine texture.

Soy grits are similar to soy flour, except the soybeans have been toasted and cracked into coarse pieces.

Kinako is a soy flour used in Japanese cuisine.

Section reference: Smith & Circle (1972, p. 442)

Soy-based infant formula

Soy-based infant formula (SBIF) is sometimes given to infants who are not being strictly breastfed; it can be useful for infants who are either allergic to pasteurized cow milk proteins or who are being fed a vegan diet. It is sold in powdered, ready-to-feed, and concentrated liquid forms.

В некоторых обзорах высказывается мнение, что необходимы дополнительные исследования, чтобы определить, какое влияние фитоэстрогены в соевых бобах могут оказывать на младенцев. Различные исследования пришли к выводу, что употребление детских смесей на основе сои не оказывает негативных последствий на рост, развитие или репродукцию человека. Одно из таких исследований, опубликованное в журнале Nutrition , приходит к выводу, что существуют:

... никаких клинических проблем в отношении адекватности питания, полового развития, нейроповеденческого развития, иммунного развития или заболеваний щитовидной железы. SBIF обеспечивают полноценное питание, которое адекватно поддерживает нормальный рост и развитие ребенка. FDA признало SBIF безопасными для использования в качестве единственного источника питания.

Заменители мяса и молочных продуктов и наполнители

Альтернатива сливочному сыру с чесноком

Соевые бобы можно обрабатывать для получения текстуры и внешнего вида, аналогичных многим другим продуктам. Например, соевые бобы являются основным ингредиентом многих заменителей молочных продуктов (например, соевого молока , маргарина , соевого мороженого, соевого йогурта , соевого сыра и соевого сливочного сыра) и альтернатив мяса (например, вегетарианских гамбургеров ). Эти заменители легко доступны в большинстве супермаркетов. Соевое молоко не содержит значительного количества легкоусвояемого кальция . Многие производители соевого молока также продают продукты, обогащенные кальцием.

Соевые продукты также используются в качестве недорогого заменителя продуктов из мяса и птицы. Такие «расширенные» продукты регулярно используют предприятия общественного питания, розничной торговли и институциональные (в первую очередь школьные обеды и исправительные учреждения). Расширение может привести к ухудшению вкуса, но количество жира и холестерина снижается. Обогащение витаминами и минералами можно использовать для того, чтобы сделать соевые продукты питательно эквивалентными животному белку; качество белка уже примерно эквивалентно. заменитель мяса на основе сои, Текстурированный растительный белок, используется уже более 50 лет как способ недорогого расширения говяжьего фарша без снижения его пищевой ценности.

Соевое ореховое масло

Из соевых бобов производят продукт под названием соевое ореховое масло , которое по текстуре похоже на арахисовое масло.

Подслащенная соя

Сладкая фасоль популярна в Японии и Корее, а соевые бобы, сваренные в сладком виде, называются «Дайдзу-но Нимаме » в Японии и Конджорим ( корейский : 콩조림 ) в Корее. Сладкую фасоль даже используют в подслащенных булочках, особенно в Маме Пан .

Отварной и натертый эдамаме, называемый Зунда , используется в качестве одной из паст из сладких бобов в японских кондитерских изделиях .

Заменитель кофе

Жареные и молотые соевые бобы могут стать заменителем кофе без кофеина . После того, как соевые бобы обжарены и измельчены, они выглядят как обычные кофейные зерна или могут использоваться в виде порошка, похожего на растворимый кофе, с ароматом и вкусом жареных соевых бобов.

Другие продукты

Техас

Соевые бобы с черной шелухой используются в китайских ферментированных черных бобах, доучи , не путать с черными черепаховыми бобами .

Соевые бобы также используются в промышленных продуктах, включая масла, мыло, косметику, смолы , пластмассы, чернила, мелки, растворители и одежду. Соевое масло является основным источником биодизеля в Соединенных Штатах, на его долю приходится 80% внутреннего производства биодизеля. Соевые бобы также используются с 2001 года в качестве бродильного сырья при производстве водки . В 1936 году компания Ford Motor Company разработала метод, при котором соевые бобы и волокна скручивали вместе, получая суп, который затем прессовали в различные детали автомобилей, от крышки распределителя до ручек на приборной панели. Форд также сообщил в пресс-релизах, что в 1935 году более пяти миллионов акров (20 000 км²) ² ) был посвящен выращиванию сои в США.

Влияние на здоровье

Снижение риска рака

По данным Американского онкологического общества , «появляется все больше свидетельств того, что употребление традиционных соевых продуктов, таких как тофу, может снизить риск рака молочной железы, простаты или эндометрия (слизистой оболочки матки), а также есть некоторые доказательства того, что это может снизить риск развития рака молочной железы, простаты или эндометрия (слизистой оболочки матки). риск некоторых других видов рака». Недостаточно исследований, чтобы указать, оказывает ли прием соевых пищевых добавок (например, в виде таблеток или капсул) какое-либо влияние на здоровье или риск рака.

диеты По состоянию на 2018 год строгие клинические исследования у людей, больных раком, оказались безрезультатными.

Рак молочной железы

Хотя значительные исследования изучали потенциал потребления сои для снижения риска рака молочной железы у женщин, по состоянию на 2016 год недостаточно доказательств, чтобы сделать вывод о взаимосвязи между потреблением сои и каким-либо влиянием на рак молочной железы. 2011 года Метаанализ показал: «Наше исследование предполагает, что потребление изофлавонов сои связано со значительным снижением риска заболеваемости раком молочной железы в азиатском населении, но не в западном населении».

Желудочно-кишечный и колоректальный рак

Обзоры предварительных клинических испытаний на людях с колоректальным или желудочно-кишечным раком позволяют предположить, что изофлавоны сои могут оказывать небольшое защитное действие против таких видов рака.

Рак простаты

Обзор 2016 года пришел к выводу, что «текущие данные обсервационных исследований и небольших клинических испытаний недостаточно надежны, чтобы понять, могут ли добавки соевого белка или изофлавонов помочь предотвратить или замедлить прогрессирование рака простаты ». Обзор 2010 года показал, что ни соевые продукты, ни добавки изофлавонов не изменяют показатели концентрации биодоступного тестостерона или эстрогена у мужчин. Было доказано, что потребление сои не влияет на количество и качество спермы . Мета-анализ связи между потреблением сои и риском рака простаты у мужчин пришел к выводу, что диетическая соя может снизить риск рака простаты.

Сердечно-сосудистое здоровье

Управление по санитарному надзору за качеством пищевых продуктов и медикаментов (FDA) удовлетворило следующее заявление о полезности сои: «25 граммов соевого белка в день в рамках диеты с низким содержанием насыщенных жиров и холестерина могут снизить риск сердечных заболеваний ». Например, одна порция (1 чашка или 240 мл) соевого молока содержит 6 или 7 граммов соевого белка.

рекомендовал добавление Обзор десятилетнего исследования преимуществ соевого белка Американской кардиологической ассоциацией (AHA) не изофлавонов . Экспертная группа также обнаружила, что изофлавоны сои не уменьшают «приливы жара» в постменопаузе, а эффективность и безопасность изофлавонов в предотвращении рака груди, матки или простаты находится под вопросом. AHA пришла к выводу, что «многие соевые продукты должны быть полезны для сердечно-сосудистой системы и общего состояния здоровья из-за высокого содержания в них полиненасыщенных жиров , клетчатки, витаминов и минералов и низкого содержания насыщенных жиров». Другие исследования показали, что потребление соевого белка может снизить концентрацию липопротеинов низкой плотности (ЛПНП), транспортирующих жиры из внеклеточной воды в клетки .

Аллергия на сою

Основная статья: Аллергия на сою

Аллергия на сою является обычным явлением, и эта пища указана вместе с другими продуктами, которые обычно вызывают аллергию, такими как молоко, яйца, арахис, древесные орехи, моллюски. Сообщалось о проблеме среди детей младшего возраста, и диагноз аллергии на сою часто основывается на симптомах, сообщаемых родителями, и результатах кожных проб или анализов крови на аллергию. Лишь в нескольких опубликованных исследованиях была предпринята попытка подтвердить аллергию на сою путем прямого заражения пищей в контролируемых условиях. Очень сложно дать надежную оценку истинной распространенности аллергии на сою среди населения в целом. В той степени, в которой она действительно существует, аллергия на сою может вызывать случаи крапивницы и ангионевротического отека , обычно в течение нескольких минут или часов после приема внутрь. В редких случаях истинная анафилаксия может возникнуть . Причина несоответствия, вероятно, заключается в том, что соевые белки, вызывающие аллергию , гораздо менее эффективны в возникновении симптомов аллергии, чем белки арахиса и моллюсков. Положительный тест на аллергию показывает, что иммунная система выработала антитела IgE к соевым белкам. Однако это имеет значение только тогда, когда соевые белки попадают в кровь, не перевариваясь, в достаточных количествах, чтобы достичь порога, вызывающего настоящие симптомы.

Соя также может вызывать симптомы из-за пищевой непереносимости — ситуации, в которой невозможно доказать аллергический механизм. Один из сценариев наблюдается у очень маленьких детей, у которых возникает рвота и диарея при кормлении смесью на основе сои, которая проходит после прекращения использования смеси. Младенцы старшего возраста могут страдать от более тяжелого расстройства с рвотой, диареей, которая может быть кровавой, анемией , потерей веса и задержкой в ​​развитии. Наиболее распространенной причиной этого необычного расстройства является чувствительность к коровьему молоку, но провоцирующим фактором могут быть и соевые смеси. Точный механизм неясен, и он может быть иммунологическим, хотя и не через антитела типа IgE, которые играют ведущую роль в развитии крапивницы и анафилаксии. Однако оно также самоограничивается и часто исчезает в детстве .

В Европейском Союзе определение присутствия сои в качестве ингредиента или непреднамеренного загрязнения в упакованных пищевых продуктах является обязательным. Постановление (ЕС) 1169/2011 о маркировке пищевых продуктов перечисляет 14 аллергенов, включая сою, в упакованных пищевых продуктах, которые должны быть четко указаны на этикетке как часть списка ингредиентов с использованием отличительного шрифта (например, жирного шрифта или заглавных букв). .

Функция щитовидной железы

В одном обзоре отмечалось, что продукты на основе сои могут ингибировать всасывание препаратов гормонов щитовидной железы, необходимых для лечения гипотиреоза . Научный обзор 2015 года, проведенный Европейским управлением по безопасности пищевых продуктов, пришел к выводу, что прием изофлавонов из добавок не влияет на уровень гормонов щитовидной железы у женщин в постменопаузе .

Исследования по компонентам

лигнаны

Растительные лигнаны связаны с продуктами с высоким содержанием клетчатки, такими как зерновые отруби и бобы, которые являются основным предшественником лигнанов млекопитающих, которые обладают способностью связываться с участками эстрогена человека. Соевые бобы являются важным источником предшественника лигнанов секоизоларицирезинола млекопитающих , содержащего 13–273 мкг/100 г сухого веса.

Фитохимические вещества

См. Также: Фитохимические вещества

Соевые бобы и обработанные соевые продукты являются одними из самых богатых продуктов по общему содержанию фитоэстрогенов (в сыром состоянии на 100 г), которые присутствуют преимущественно в форме изофлавонов , даидзеина и генистеина . Поскольку большинство встречающихся в природе фитоэстрогенов действуют как селективные модуляторы эстрогеновых рецепторов или SERM, которые не обязательно действуют как прямые агонисты эстрогеновых рецепторов, нормальное потребление продуктов, содержащих эти фитоэстрогены, не должно обеспечивать достаточные количества, чтобы вызвать физиологический ответ у человека. Основным продуктом микробного метаболизма даидзеина является эквол . Только 33% жителей Западной Европы имеют микробиом , вырабатывающий эквол, по сравнению с 50–55% жителей Азии.

Изофлавоны сои — полифенольные соединения, которые также производятся другими бобовыми, такими как арахис и нут. — находятся на стадии предварительного исследования. По состоянию на 2016 год причинно-следственной не было выявлено в клинических исследованиях связи , указывающей на то, что изофлавоны сои снижают риск сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний.

Фитиновая кислота

Соевые бобы содержат фитиновую кислоту , которая может действовать как хелатирующий агент и ингибировать усвоение минералов, особенно в диетах с низким содержанием минералов.

В культуре

Хотя наблюдения о том, что потребление сои вызывает гинекомастию у мужчин, не являются окончательными, уничижительный термин « соевый мальчик » появился для описания выхолощенных молодых людей с женскими чертами.

Фьючерсы

на сою Фьючерсы торгуются на Чикагской торговой палате и имеют даты поставки в январе (F), марте (H), мае (K), июле (N), августе (Q), сентябре (U), ноябре (X).

Они также торгуются на других товарных фьючерсных биржах в соответствии с различными спецификациями контрактов:

• SAFEX: Южноафриканская фьючерсная биржа.
• DC: Даляньская товарная биржа
• ODE: Товарная биржа Осака Додзима (ранее Кансайская товарная биржа, KEX) в Японии.
• NCDEX: Национальная биржа товаров и деривативов, Индия.
• ROFEX: Зерновая биржа Росарио в Аргентине

См. также

• Альтернативные корма
• Товарный урожай
• Список продуктов на основе сои
• Органическая детская смесь
• Соевая патока
• Соя в Парагвае
• Практика управления соевыми бобами
• Агглютинин соевых бобов , лектин

Дальнейшее чтение

• да Силва, Клейтон Марсио; де Майо, Клаудио, ред. Эпоха сои: экологическая история сои во время Великого ускорения (White Horse Press, 2022) онлайн-обзор