[en] Brazil is today the second main producer of soybean in the world with a planted ground of about 21 million hectares and an annual production of 60 million tons in 2008, being slight more than a fourth of the annual production. The presence of flavonoids, particularly isoflavones in soybean products has been related as important for human health. It has been suggested that flavonoids play a role in the protection of plants by screening vital cellular components from damaging UV radiation. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy can measure free radicals produced by dissociation molecules resulting from irradiation. It has been successfully employed for the detection of some irradiated food products. Twenty one Brazilian soybean cultivars from two crops were gamma-irradiated with a ⁶⁰Co source and evaluated by EPR. Correlation coefficients were made among the central EPR signal (g = 2.0039) and the total and partial isoflavones contents. There was no correlation with total contents, though glicitein and acetyl-daidzin showed a negative correlation. Even 7 months after irradiation the intensity of central EPR signal were high enough to distinguish the irradiated samples. EPR measurements of separated parts of the grain were more efficient for that purpose, particularly from hilum and coat. The radiation did not change substantially the total isoflavone contents, although there were some evidences suggesting some conversion of glycosides to aglycones. (author)