Soy-Based Food Products Consumed in Africa: A Panacea to Mitigate Food Insecurity and Health Challenges

Soy-based food has been identified as one of the major important food consumed as a staple food in most part of the African countries. They are plant-based foods containing essential amino acids, phytochemicals and vitamins which are required for adequate maintenance of human health. Several researchers have validated the nutritional and medical benefits of these soy phytochemicals and soy-based bio-products which include prevention of cardiovascular disease, cholesterol-lowering effects, insulinotropic, anti-inflammation, anti-estrogenic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial. Moreover, some scientific reports have also validated the medicinal benefit of phytochemicals derived from soy-based beans and their involvement in the management of chronic and tropical diseases. Examples of such pharmacologically active compounds include soy isoflavones, glycitein, genistein, daidzein as well as glyceollins and phytoalexins. In view of the aforementioned, this review intends to provide detailed nutritional and health benefits of consuming soy-based foods as a typical type of nutritional food and give better insight on how the pharmacologically active compounds present in these soy-based foods exhibit their biological activities for maximum benefits of mankind.