Inventory of phytoestrogen databases

In this review, 17 phytoestrogen databases (PE DBs) including three literature compendia, 11 DBs for PE intake assessment in different countries or population groups and three comprehensive DBs for nutrition research were compared with respect to several issues, specifically the number of foods and compounds covered, the data sources, the mode of data expression, the additional information presented and the quality control of the data. The problems encountered in the construction and use of PE DBs (natural variability of PE contents, incomplete coverage of foods and compounds) were discussed alongside the requirements of DBs intended for intake assessment or nutrition research. In addition, recommendations were given on which DBs are best suited for which purpose. The reviewed DBs differ in the date of construction, aim, structure and also in comprehensiveness. The greatest number of foods is covered in DBs for intake assessment based on national food consumption data, whereas most information is given in comprehensive DBs for nutrition research. Presentation of quality assessed data is of increasing importance as new developments in PE analysis and steady production of new analytical data make replacement of low quality data possible.