*2.7. Statistical Analysis*

Statistical analysis of data was performed using IBM SPSS 23 statistic software. The Mann–Whitney test for independent samples was performed to examine differences between equol producers and non-producers in terms of microbial groups, diversity indexes, and fecal FAs. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test for related samples was used to examine differences between before and after isoflavone supplementation. Alternatively, Student's *t*test was used when normal distribution was confirmed using Saphiro-Wilk test. Two-tailed probability values of *p* < 0.05 were considered significant.
