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constituents present in soybeans, soy foods, and legumes possessing antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-
inflammatory properties. Natural isoflavones belong to the phenylpropanoid category and share
considerable chemical and biochemical characteristics as they belong to similar biogenetic pathways. In the
review, the author discussed the pharmacology and estrogenic nature of isoflavones. An attempt was also
made to mention the hurdles faced in clinical research on isoflavones due to their low solubility and
bioavailability. The authors further highlighted new advances in isoflavone research by chemical
derivatization and developed a suitable bioavailability-enhancing formulation for further research.

[11]
The special issue concludes with the article by Wenner et al. , discussing the molecular mechanisms of
chemoprevention elicited by the phytochemicals against various diseases, including cancer. The authors
discussed the cellular process of autophagy and an evolutionarily conserved self-digestion process that
employs lysosomal-mediated enzymatic degradation. The authors discussed the autophagy induction
potential of phytochemicals such as phenethyl isothiocyanate, capsaicin, withaferin A and genistein.
Molecular pathway context dependent cytoprotective/cytotoxic role of autophagy and its role in cancer
chemoprevention were also discussed. Understanding the pharmacology of these phytochemicals used
alone or in combination with other conventional therapies, could lead to the development of new
approaches in health promotion and disease prevention.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Made substantial contributions to conception and writing of the manuscript: Gupta S
Participated in review, type setting, referencing of the manuscript: Kumar S
Provided administrative, technical, and material support: Gupta S

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
Efforts are supported by the Department of Defense Grants W81XWH-18-1-0618 and W81XWH-19-1-0720
and VA Merit Review 1I01BX002494 to Gupta S. Kumar S acknowledges University Grants Commission,
India and Department of Science and Technology, India for providing financial support in the form of
UGC-BSR Research Start-Up-Grant [No. F.30-372/2017 (BSR)] and DST-SERB Grant [EEQ/2016/000350].
Kumar S acknowledges Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India for providing Research Seed Money
Grant [GP-25].

Conflicts of interest
Both authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021.