ArticleScientific reports2018
Soy protein supplementation is not androgenic or estrogenic in college-aged men when combined with resistance exercise training.
Article in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 14 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mechanism of action of genistein on breast cancer and differential effects of different age stages.Pharmaceutical biology · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Soy Protein Supplementation on Muscle Adaptations, Metabolic and Antioxidant Status, Hormonal Response, and Exercise Performance of Active Individuals and Athletes: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- High-protein diets and testosterone.Nutrition and health · 2023Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of protein intake to support muscle mass and function in healthy adults.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of 18-Month Soy Protein Supplementation on Steroid Hormones and Serum Biomarkers of Angiogenesis, Apoptosis, and the Growth Hormone/IGF-1 Axis: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Males Following Prostatectomy.Nutrition and cancer · 2022Trial
- Mechanistic Insights into Flavonoids in Cosmetic Applications: Multifunctional Roles and Formulation Considerations.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026Review
- Genistein in polycystic ovary syndrome: mechanisms, preclinical evidence, and translational potential.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Review
- Which Protein-Based Dietary Supplements Most Effectively Enhance Fat-Free Mass and Strength Gains in Healthy Adults Undergoing Resistance Training? A Network Meta-Analysis.Translational sports medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- The utility-and limitations-of the rodent synergist ablation model in examining mechanisms of skeletal muscle hypertrophy.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2024Review
- Manipulation of Dietary Intake on Changes in Circulating Testosterone Concentrations.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Genistein: An Integrative Overview of Its Mode of Action, Pharmacological Properties, and Health Benefits.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2021Review
- Pre-training Skeletal Muscle Fiber Size and Predominant Fiber Type Best Predict Hypertrophic Responses to 6 Weeks of Resistance Training in Previously Trained Young Men.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Article
- Influence of Oral Contraceptive Use on Adaptations to Resistance Training.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
It is currently unclear as to whether sex hormones are significantly affected by soy or whey protein consumption. Additionally, estrogenic signaling may be potentiated via soy protein supplementation due to the presence of phytoestrogenic isoflavones. Limited also evidence suggests that whey protein supplementation may increase androgenic signaling. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of soy protein concentrate (SPC), whey protein concentrate (WPC), or placebo (PLA) supplementation on serum sex hormones, androgen signaling markers in muscle tissue, and estrogen signaling markers in subcutaneous (SQ) adipose tissue of previously untrained, college-aged men (n = 47, 20 ± 1 yrs) that resistance trained for 12 weeks. Fasting serum total testosterone increased pre- to post-training, but more so in subjects consuming WPC (p < 0.05), whereas serum 17β-estradiol remained unaltered. SQ estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) protein expression and hormone-sensitive lipase mRNA increased with training regardless of supplementation. Muscle androgen receptor (AR) mRNA increased while ornithine decarboxylase mRNA (a gene target indicative of androgen signaling) decreased with training regardless of supplementation (p < 0.05). No significant interactions of supplement and time were observed for adipose tissue ERα/β protein levels, muscle tissue AR protein levels, or mRNAs in either tissue indicative of altered estrogenic or androgenic activity. Interestingly, WPC had the largest effect on increasing type II muscle fiber cross sectional area values (Cohen's d = 1.30), whereas SPC had the largest effect on increasing this metric in type I fibers (Cohen's d = 0.84). These data suggest that, while isoflavones were detected in SPC, chronic WPC or SPC supplementation did not appreciably affect biomarkers related to muscle androgenic signaling or SQ estrogenic signaling. The noted fiber type-specific responses to WPC and SPC supplementation warrant future research.
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