Genistein inhibits differentiation of primary human adipocytes

Genistein, a major soy isoflavone, has been reported to exhibit antiadipogenic and proapoptotic potential in vivo and in vitro. It is also a phytoestrogen which has high affinity to estrogen receptor β. In this study, we determined the effect of genistein on adipogenesis and estrogen receptor (ER) α and β expression during differentiation in primary human preadipocytes. Genistein inhibited lipid accumulation in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of 6.25 μM and higher, with 50 μM genistein inhibiting lipid accumulation almost completely. Low concentrations of genistein (3.25 μM) increased cell viability and higher concentrations (25 and 50 μM) decreased it by 16.48±1.35% ( P