Lignans are phytoestrogen, a group of chemical compounds found in plants, including soybeans, cruciferous vegetables, Flax and sesame seed, rye, wheat, oat, barley and apricots and strawberries. The phytochemicals are also best know for its antioxidant properties in preventing the forming of free radical and in reacting to oxidative stress.

 

1. Antioxidant
According to the study of " Antiradical and antioxidant activities of new bio-antioxidants." by

Kancheva VD, Saso L, Angelova SE, Foti MC, Slavova-Kasakova A, Daquino C, Enchev V, Firuzi O, Nechev J. (Source from Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria), Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. posted in PubMed, researchers found that The geometries of compounds and all possible phenoxyl radicals were optimized using density functional theory. For description of the scavenging activity bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE), HOMO energies and spin densities were employed. The best correlation between theoretical and experimental data was obtained for compound 2, with the highest activity, and for compound 4 with the lowest activity. The BDE is the most important theoretical descriptor, which correlate with the experimentally obtained antioxidant activity of the studied benzo[kl]xanthene lignans and dihydrobenzofuran neolignans.

2. Menopausal Breast cancer
In a study of " Estimated enterolignans, lignan-rich foods, and fibre in relation to survival after postmenopausal breast cancer." by Buck K, Zaineddin AK, Vrieling A, Heinz J, Linseisen J, Flesch-Janys D, Chang-Claude J. (Source from Unit of Genetic Epidemiology, Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, Heidelberg, Germany.), posted in PubMed, researchers indicated that in a follow-up study of 2653 postmenopausal breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2001 and 2005, vital status and causes of death were verified through end of 2009. and found that Median follow-up time was 6.4 years, and 321 women died, 235 with breast cancer. High estimated enterolactone and enterodiol levels were associated with significantly lower overall mortality (highest quintile, HR=0.60, 95% CI=0.40-0.89, P(Trend)=0.02 and HR=0.63, 95% CI=0.42-0.95, P(Trend)=0.02, respectively).

3. Colon cancer

In a study of " Cytostatic inhibition of cancer cell growth by lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside." by Ayella A, Lim S, Jiang Y, Iwamoto T, Lin D, Tomich J, Wang W.
( Source from Department of Human Nutrition, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA, Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc.), posted in PubMed, researchers concluded that the reliable stability and undetectable intracellular SDG in treated cells may suggest that metabolism of SDG, if exposed directly to the colonic cells, could be different from the known degradation by microorganisms in human gut.

4. Prostate cancer
In a study of " Rye whole grain and bran intake compared with refined wheat decreases urinary C-peptide, plasma insulin, and prostate specific antigen in men with prostate cancer." by Landberg R, Andersson SO, Zhang JX, Johansson JE, Stenman UH, Adlercreutz H, Kamal-Eldin A, Aman P, Hallmans G. (Source from Department of Food Science, Swedish University of Agriculture Science, Uppsala, Sweden. rikard.landberg@lmv.slu.se), posted in PubMed, reseachers found that Daily excretion of 5 lignans was higher after the RP treatment than after the WP treatment (P < 0.001). We conclude that whole grain and bran from rye resulted in significantly lower plasma PSA compared with a cellulose-supplemented refined wheat diet in patients with prostate cancer. The effect may be related to inhibition of prostate cancer progression caused by decreased exposure to insulin, as indicated by plasma insulin and urinary C-peptide excretion.
 

5. Chronic diseases

According the research of " Health effects with consumption of the flax lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside." by Adolphe JL, Whiting SJ, Juurlink BH, Thorpe LU, Alcorn J.

( Source from College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5C9.), posted in PubMed, researchers found that dietary SDG has the potential to decrease the incidence of several chronic diseases that result in significant morbidity and mortality in industrialised countries. The available literature, though, makes it difficult to clearly identify SDG health effects because of the wide variability in study methods.

6. Heart health
In a study of ' Flaxseed and cardiovascular health." by Prasad K. (Source from Department of Physiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. k.prasad@usask.ca), post in OubMed, researchers found that flaxseed, FLC (flax lignan complex) and SDG (lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside), but not flaxseed oil, suppress atherosclerosis, and FLC and SDG slow progression of atherosclerosis but have no effect on regression. Flaxseed oil suppresses oxygen radical production by white blood cells, prolongs bleeding time, and in higher doses suppresses serum levels of inflammatory mediators and does not lower serum lipids.

7. Antitumor effect and cytotoxic activity
In a study of "Vitexins, nature-derived lignan compounds, induce apoptosis and suppress tumor growth." by Zhou Y, Liu YE, Cao J, Zeng G, Shen C, Li Y, Zhou M, Chen Y, Pu W, Potters L, Shi YE. (Source from Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China. eshi@lij.edu), posted in PubMed, researchers found that Vitexin is a class of nature lignan compounds, whose action and anticancer effect is mediated by the mechanisms different from the classic lignans. Vitexin-induced antitumor effect and cytotoxic activity is exerted through proapoptotic process, which is mediated by a decreased Bcl-2/Bax ratio and activation of caspases.

8. Ovarian cancer
In a study of " Risk of human ovarian cancer is related to dietary intake of selected nutrients, phytochemicals and food groups." by McCann SE, Freudenheim JL, Marshall JR, Graham S.(Source from Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. mccann@acsu.buffalo.edu), posted in PubMed, researchers found that Compared with women in the lowest quintile of intake, reduced risks were observed for women in the highest quintile of intake of dietary fiber (OR 0.43, 95% CI, 0.20-0.94), total carotenoids (OR 0.33, 95% CI, 0.16-0.68), stigmasterol (OR 0.42, 95% CI, 0.20-0.87), total lignans (OR 0.43, 95% CI, 0.21-0.85), vegetables (OR 0.47, 95% CI, 0.23-0.97) and poultry (OR 0.45, 95% CI, 0.22-0.92). These results support a protective effect on ovarian cancer of phytoestrogen intakes, and our results support the hypothesis that a plant-based diet may be important in reducing risks of hormone-related neoplasms.

9. Antiestrogen activity
According to the study of " Lignans as food constituents with estrogen and antiestrogen activity." by Aehle E, Müller U, Eklund PC, Willför SM, Sippl W, Dräger B. (Source from Institute of Pharmacy, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, D-06120 Halle/Saale, Germany.), posted in PubMed, researchers found that Some plant lignans showed estrogen activity while others and the semisynthetic norlignans were moderately active antiestrogens. Docking of lignans to protein models of estrogen receptor alpha in the active and inactive form sustained the results of the yeast estrogen assay and supported the concept of plant lignans as phytoestrogens.

10. Menopause
According to the study of " Alternative and complementary therapies for the menopause."

Borrelli F, Ernst E. (Source from Department of Experimental Pharmacology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy. franborr@unina.it), posted in PubMed, researchers found that
Phytoestrogen extracts, including isoflavones and lignans, appear to have only minimal effect on hot flashes but have other positive health effects, e.g. on plasma lipid levels and bone loss. For other commonly used CAMs, e.g. probiotics, prebiotics, acupuncture, homeopathy and DHEA-S, randomized, placebo-controlled trials are scarce and the evidence is unconvincing. More and better RCTs testing the effectiveness of these treatments are needed.

11. Blood Pressure
In a study of "A randomized controlled trial of the effects of flaxseed lignan complex on metabolic syndrome composite score and bone mineral in older adults." by Cornish SM, Chilibeck PD, Paus-Jennsen L, Biem HJ, Khozani T, Senanayake V, Vatanparast H, Little JP, Whiting SJ, Pahwa P. (Source from College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N5B2, Canada. smc 133@mail.usask.ca), posted in PubMed, researchers found that with men taking flaxseed lignan decreasing diastolic blood pressure relative to men taking placebo, and men taking placebo increasing TAG relative to men taking flax lignan. There were no differences between groups for change in bone measures, body composition, lipoproteins, or cytokines. Males taking the flaxseed lignan complex reduced metabolic syndrome score relative to men taking placebo, but a similar trend was not seen in females. Flaxseed lignan had no effect on bone mineral density or content, body composition, lipoproteins, glucose, or inflammation.

12. Antiradical activities
In a study of " Antiradical and antioxidant activities of new bio-antioxidants." by Kancheva VD, Saso L, Angelova SE, Foti MC, Slavova-Kasakova A, Daquino C, Enchev V, Firuzi O, Nechev J. (Source from Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.), posted in PubMed, researchers found that the best correlation between theoretical and experimental data was obtained for compound 2, with the highest activity, and for compound 4 with the lowest activity. The BDE is the most important theoretical descriptor, which correlate with the experimentally obtained antioxidant activity of the studied benzo[kl]xanthene lignans and dihydrobenzofuran neolignans.

13. Anti-inflammation
According to the study of " Anti-inflammatory Endiandric Acid Analogues from the Roots of Beilschmiedia tsangii." by Huang YT, Chang HS, Wang GJ, Cheng MJ, Chen CH, Yang YJ, Chen IS. (Source fromGraduate Institute of Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University , Kaohsiung, Taiwan 807, Republic of China.), posted in PubMed, researchers indicated in abstract, that bioassay-guided fractionation of roots of Beilschmiedia tsangii led to the isolation of six new endiandric acid analogues: tsangibeilin A (1), tsangibeilin B (2), endiandramide A (3), endiandric acid K (4), endiandric acid L (5), and endiandramide B (6). Also isolated were two new lignans, beilschminol A (7) and tsangin C (8), and six known compounds. The structures of 1-8 were determined by spectroscopic techniques. Compounds 3 and 6 exhibited potent iNOS inhibitory activity, with IC(50) values of 9.59 and 16.40 μM, respectively.

14. Antitubercular activities
in a study of " Novel epoxyfuranoid lignans and antitubercular constituents from the leaves of Beilschmiedia tsangii." by Chen JJ, Chou ET, Peng CF, Chen IS, Yang SZ, Huang HY. (Source from Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Tajen University, Pingtung, Taiwan. jjchen@mail.tajen.edu.tw), posted in PubMed, researchers indicated in abstract that Three new epoxyfuranoid lignans, 4alpha,5alpha-epoxybeilschmin A (1), 4alpha,5alpha-epoxybeilschmin B (2), and beilschmin D (3), together with nine known compounds have been isolated from the leaves of Beilschmiedia tsangii. The structures of these new compounds were determined through spectral analyses. Among the isolates, beilschmin A (4) and beilschmin B (5) exhibited potent antitubercular activities (MICs = 2.5 and 7.5 microg/mL, respectively) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis 90 - 221387 in vitro.

15. Cholesterol-lowering effect
According to the study of "[Nutritional value of sesame seeds].", [Article in Russian], [No authors listed], posted in PubMed, researchers indicated in abstract that Literature data on the nutritional value of sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum L.), their use in feeding the world population and food production are presented. Sesame seeds contain up to 55% oil and 20% protein. Sesame proteins are limited by lysine but rich in tryptophan and methionine. Sesame oil is rich in linoleic and oleic acids, the predominance of gamma-tocopherol over the other isomers of vitamin E and high content of fat-soluble lignans (sesamin and sesamolin). Thanks to recent sesame oil has a phytoestrogen activity; it has a cholesterol-lowering effect.

16. Hepatoprotective effects
According to the study of " Chemical structures and hepatoprotective effects of constituents from the leaves of Salacia chinensis." by Nakamura S, Zhang Y, Matsuda H, Ninomiya K, Muraoka O, Yoshikawa M. (Source from Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Kyoto, Japan.), posted in pubMed, researchers indicated in abstract that the hepatoprotective effects of the isolated compounds on D-galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity were examined. Among them, lignans, eleutheroside E₂ and 7R,8S-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, were found to show the protective effects [inhibition (%) 41.4 ± 3.6 (p < 0.01), 45.5 ± 2.7 (p < 0.01) at 100 µM, respectively.

17. Lignans and hypercholesterolaemic diet
In a study of " Effects of linseed consumption for a short period of time on lipid profile and atherosclerotic lesions in rabbits fed a hypercholesterolaemic diet." by Prim CR, Baroncini LA, Précoma LB, Caron PH, Winter G, Poletti MO, Précoma DB. (Source from Center of Health and Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Prado Velho, CEP 80215-901 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.), posted in PubMed, researchers concluded that linseed consumption showed hypolipaemic action by reducing LDL-C and TC levels; however, this cholesterol-lowering effect did not reduce the atherosclerotic lesions induced by a hypercholesterolaemic diet (1 % cholesterol) for a short period of time.

18. Osteoporosis
According to the study of "Bone-protective effects of bioactive fractions and ingredients in Sambucus williamsii HANCE." by Xiao HH, Dai Y, Wan HY, Wong MS, Yao XS. (Source fromSchool of Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, People's Republic of China.), posted in PubMed, researchers found that SWC (50 and 95 % ethanol eluates; 0·189 g/kg) significantly restored bone mineral density and improved bone size and bone content parameters in the femur and tibia as well as increased biomechanical strength at the tibia diaphysis in OVX mice. Similarly, SWC was the most potent fraction in stimulating cell proliferation and differentiation in UMR 106 cells. ... ..... seven lignans and two phenolic acids, in the HPLC fingerprint of the SWC fraction were identified, isolated and characterised. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that SWC was the most potent fraction in SWH that exerted anti-osteoporotic effects. Furthermore, lignans might be the potential bioactive components in SWC.

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