Pharmacokinetic studies of soybean isoflavones have shown that following oral ingestion, the two major isoflavones, daidzin and genistin, are hydrolyzed in the intestine, rapidly absorbed into the peripheral circulation, and eliminated from the body with a terminal half-life of 7-8 h. These characteristics make maintenance of steady-state plasma isoflavone concentrations difficult to attain unless there is repeated daily ingestion of foods or supplements containing isoflavones. In an attempt to sustain more constant plasma isoflavone concentrations, a new slow-release formulation of a soybean isoflavone extract was prepared by microencapsulation with a mixture of hydroxypropylcellulose and ethylcellulose to alter its dissolution characteristics. In vitro experiments confirmed slow aqueous dissolution of isoflavones from this formulation when compared with the conventional isoflavone extract. The pharmacokinetics of this slow-release isoflavone extract was studied in 10 healthy postmenopausal women after oral administration of a single capsule containing the equivalent of 22.3 mg of genistein and 7.47 mg of daidzein expressed as aglycons. A comparison of the key pharmacokinetic parameters obtained in this study with those established in extensive studies performed previously in this laboratory indicated that the mean residence time of genistein and daidzein increased 2-fold with microencapsulation. These findings are indicative of a decreased rate of absorption, consistent with the observed slow in vitro dissolution rate. These findings show that it is feasible to employ polymer matrices that slow the aqueous dissolution for preparing sustained-release formulations of soy isoflavones. Further studies to optimize such formulations are warranted.