It is intended to provide a composition containing isoflavones which has a
high purity and yet is highly soluble in water in a natural state without
adding any solubilizers or subjecting to chemically modification. It is
found out that a composition containing isoflavones with a high purity
and a high solubility in water can be obtained by extracting soybean
hypocotyls with a water-containing alcohol within a specific temperature
range, then allowing a synthetic adsorbent resin to adsorb the obtained
extract and eluting with a water-containing alcohol at a specific
concentration.