Thua-nao, or Thai fermented soybeans, is a traditional Lanna fermented food in Northern Thailand. It is produced by using a specific bacterial species called Bacillus subtilis var. Thua-nao. We investigated the antioxidant activity and cytotoxic effect of isoflavones from Thua-nao. The phenolic compound contents and total flavonoid contents were determined by spectrophotometry. The antioxidant activity was examined using the ABTS, FRAP, and DPPH assays. The isoflavone contents and phenolic compositions were examined by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques. The ability of isoflavones to inhibit human cancer cell growth was assessed by the MTT assay. The total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities of the isoflavones were 49.00 ± 0.51 mg GAE/g of dry extract (DE), 10.76 ± 0.82 mg QE/g of DE, 61.03 ± 0.97 µmol Trolox/g of DE, 66.54 ± 3.97 µM FeSO4/g of DE, and 22.47 ± 1.92% of DPPH inhibition, respectively. Additionally, the isoflavone extracts from Thua-nao had high isoflavone contents and polyphenolic compound compositions, especially daidzein and genistein. The isoflavone demonstrated a weak inhibition of MCF-7 and HEK293 cancer cell growth. It has a high antioxidant component, which is beneficial and can be developed for new therapeutic uses. However, further studies on the benefits of Thua-nao should be performed for realizing better and more effective uses soon.
Keywords: Bacillus subtilis var. Thua-nao; Thai fermented soybean; Thua-nao; antioxidant; cytotoxicity.