The Australian company said the centre's launch is in response to the growing interest in research supporting the use of dietary isoflavones as a natural alternative for menopausal symptoms in women and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), or enlarged prostate, in men.
Novogen is not the only firm to have witnessed increasing interest in soy isoflavones. Dutch firm Acatris said demand for its soy products shot up last year on the back of new resarch confirming the potential harm done by conventional treatment for menopause symptoms, namely hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The UK's medicines watchdog added to women's concerns when it said late last year that HRT is no longer recommended for prevention of osteoporosis. And this week the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) went further by releasing a position statement on the treatment of menopause symptoms that supports the use of dietary isoflavones as an alternative treatment to HRT.
A study begun in New Zealand shortly after the first major warning on HRT from the 2002 Women's Health Initiative found that more than half the women participants stopped taking the treatment.
The Novogen Center for Isoflavone Research (NCIR) aims to draw attention to the growing body of science supporting isoflavones. Some of this has so far been conflicting but growing interest should prompt further, thorough research on isoflavones. Novogen was recently granted a US patent covering the use of soy isoflavones in tablet or capsule dietary supplements.
An electronic media kit is also being distributed by the new centre. It offers information on the guidelines highlighted in the NAMS position statement (as well as direct access to the statement itself), the research surrounding dietary isoflavones and recommended isoflavone intake levels.
Isoflavones have also been linked to other diseases associated with aging such as cancer and prostate complications.