The research focus centers on post-menopausal women who are highly vulnerable to bone and gut health disorders.
Iskandar Azmy Harahap, a researcher at BRIN’s Research Center for Food Technology and Processing, said elderly women require special attention because they generally have longer life expectancy than men.
He said menopause marked a critical phase for aging women as declining estrogen levels were linked to health problems, including changes in gut microbiota and reduced bone mineral density.
Harahap said osteoporosis had become a major health challenge amid Indonesia’s growing elderly population, while existing treatments still relied heavily on conventional therapies with limitations for long-term use.
BRIN is therefore examining nutritional interventions based on fermented soybean foods such as tempeh, which is rich in isoflavones, combined with probiotics and calcium to support bone health and gut microbiota balance.
“One focus of the research is the potential of fermented soybean foods, including tempeh, combined with probiotics to maintain microbiota balance and bone health,” Harahap said in a statement on Saturday.
Preliminary findings showed the nutritional combination could help support the formation of bone cells, while pre-clinical trials linked tempe and probiotic consumption with improved calcium status and bone metabolism indicators.
Separate studies involving post-menopausal women also suggested probiotic supplementation may help maintain balance in bone metabolic processes, according to the researcher.
However, Harahap cautioned that the findings still required broader scientific validation before they could be widely recommended for public use.
“Research from cells, animals and humans is conducted gradually, so findings cannot be directly generalized without strong validation,” he said.
He said nutritional interventions and the use of local food products could become an important strategy for addressing Indonesia’s aging population while improving the future quality of life for elderly citizens.
Related news: Tempeh --- a food for a golden generation
Related news: Tempeh proposed to be inscribed on UNESCO cultural heritage list
Translator: Sean FM, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Arie Novarina
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
