“ Soymilk ” is a beverage made from soybeans and has become an important factor in human nutrition, due to the absence of cholesterol and lactose.
The composition of “Soymilk” is different from cow milk in many aspective, such as fatty acid profiles, fat, protein as well as phytooestrogen (isoflavones).
For the fatty acid profile, “Soymilk” was rich in omega-3-fatty acid.
In contrast, a high percentage of saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids were detected in cow milk.
The main result was that cow milk showed a higher fat content than “ Soymilk”.
Regarding Protein content, it was analysed using the Kjeldahl method.
While cow milk had a protein content of approximately 3.5% “Soymilk” contained around 4.8%protein.
According to phy-oestrogens,40 mg/100 g were found in “Soymilk” .
The isoflavone composition was characterised via a newly established ultra performance liquid chromatography(UPLC tm) method.
(10) Thus, “Soymilk” has a significant content of phyto-oestrogens(isoflavones)that are inexistent in cow milk,and plays an important role in human nutrition by now.
In conclusion,“Soymilk” turned out to be a valuable food and may be regarded as an option in human nutrition,in particular in certain cases(e.g., lactose intolerance).
However, taking into account recent literature,“Soymilk” can definitively not be considered as an adequate substitute for cow milk, especially regarding nutritional needs for young children.