Pet Safety / Compounds / Daidzein

Is Daidzein safe for dogs and cats?

Low risk for pets

Present in soy-based pet foods; no reported toxicity.

What is daidzein?

The IUPAC name is 7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chromen-4-one.

Also known as: 4',7-Dihydroxyisoflavone, Daidzeol, 7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one, 7,4'-Dihydroxyisoflavone.

IUPAC name
7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chromen-4-one
CAS number
486-66-8
Molecular formula
C15H10O4
Molecular weight
254.24 g/mol
SMILES
Oc1ccc(-c2coc3cc(O)ccc3c2=O)cc1
PubChem CID
5281708

Risk for dogs

Low risk

Present in soy-based pet foods; no reported toxicity.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Daidzein. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
FDA1999GRAS as component of soy foods
EFSA2015No safety concern at dietary levels

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter daidzein

  • Food
  • Dietary Supplement

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Daidzein:

  • S-equol supplement (direct metabolite)
    Trade-offs: Only 30-50% of Western populations produce equol naturally from daidzein. Direct supplementation bypasses this. Limited clinical data.
    Relative cost: 3-5×

Frequently asked questions

Is daidzein safe for pets?

Present in soy-based pet foods; no reported toxicity.

See Daidzein in the pets app

Look up products containing daidzein, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in pets View raw API data

Sources (1)

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →