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# What is s-equol?
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/euol_0320120400/
- Published: 2012-03-20T05:58:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T13:32:53.000Z
- Description: Equol is a nonsteroidal estrogen that gut bacteria make from the soy isoflavone daidzein, though only about 30-50% of people carry bacteria that produce it. Of its two mirror-image forms, S-equol preferentially activates estrogen receptor beta. Text cited from Wikipedia.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Supplements, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Equol (4',7-isoflavandiol) is an isoflavandiol metabolized from daidzein, a type of isoflavone, by bacterial flora in the intestines. While endogenous estrogenic hormones such as estradiol are steroids, equol is a nonsteroidal estrogen. However, only about 30-50% of people have intestinal bacteria that make equol. Equol may have beneficial effects on the incidence of prostate cancer, bone health skin health and physiological changes during menopause, including reducing severity and frequency of hot flashes and stiffness in the neck and shoulder. Other benefits may be realized in treating male pattern baldness, acne, and other problems because it functions as a DHT blocker. Equol is a compound that can exist in two forms, known as the diastereoisomers S-equol and R-equol, which means the compounds mirror each other, just as a person's left hand mirrors the right. S-equol preferentially activates estrogen receptor type β.

Cited from wikipedia.org