Production of an Isoflavone Concentrate from Red Clover Flowers

Abstract

ABSTRACTRed clover flowers are a rich source of isoflavones in the forms of biochanin A, formononetin, genistein, and genistin. A simple process was developed to recover isoflavones from red clover flowers as a nutraceutical product. Isoflavones were 1st extracted in alkaline water and insoluble polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVP) was then added to the extract for adsorbing isoflavones. The adsorbed isoflavones were subsequently eluted with ethanol and dried. The main steps of this process were optimized for the product yield and quality. The final product was an isoflavone concentrate, containing more than 20 wt% isoflavones, which represented a recovery of greater than 50% of the total isoflavone amount in red clover flowers.