Protective Effect of Soybean Bioactive Compounds on Liver Disorders: A Bibliometric Analysis and Review

Diet intervention and nutritional support have been accepted as a cornerstone of therapy for various disorders of the liver, a central organ of metabolism and digestion. Epidemiological data have shown the beneficial effects of soy-containing diets on patients with liver disorders represented by nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the latter of which has now been officially replaced by metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This study focused on the specific bioactive compounds derived from soybean, and aimed to provide a systematic overview of their potential application in control of liver disorders. We employed a bibliometric analysis and review of relevant research papers published in the past 15 years gathered from the PubMed and Web of Science databases. A total of 93 eligible studies were retrieved. Temporal analysis of publications revealed an ongoing interest in investigating soybean bioactive compounds with hepatoprotective activity, published in 61 different academic journals, from 2009 to 2023. Papers mainly came from China, the United States, and Japan. “Genistein (n = 26),” “NAFLD (n = 21),” and “soy protein (n = 20)” were the top three most frequently occurring keywords. More than 19 specific compounds from soybean have been explored for their potential hepatoprotective effect, among which flavonoids were most frequently studied in 53 (57.0%) articles, followed by soy proteins (30.1%). Genistein that was studied by 33 (35.5%) articles appeared as the most focused soy flavonoids. Only two recent clinical trials from Japan supported hepatoprotective activities of equol, a novel ingredient derived from soy. MASLD/metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) was the overwhelmingly attractive indication for soy-based hepatoprotection studied by 61.3% of the included articles, followed by liver cancer (14.0%), toxicant-induced nonmalignant liver lesions (14.0%), alcohol-related liver disease (9.7%), and autoimmune hepatitis (1.0%). Findings suggested that the development of soybean bioactive compounds to control liver disorders, in particular, soybean genistein used for MASLD/MASH, has garnered considerable attention, and there is a need for future studies to investigate the potential effect of novel bioactive compounds from soybean on other liver disorders.