Naturally Lignan-Rich Foods: A Dietary Tool for Health Promotion?

doi:10.3390/molecules24050917

Review

. 2019 Mar 6;24(5):917.

doi: 10.3390/molecules24050917.

Naturally Lignan-Rich Foods: A Dietary Tool for Health Promotion?

Carmen Rodríguez-García^{1

2}, Cristina Sánchez-Quesada^{3

4

5}, Estefanía Toledo^{6

7

8}, Miguel Delgado-Rodríguez^{9

10

11}, José J Gaforio^{12

13

14

15}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. crgarcia@ujaen.es.
² Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. crgarcia@ujaen.es.
³ Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. csquesad@ujaen.es.
⁴ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. csquesad@ujaen.es.
⁵ Agri-food Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain. csquesad@ujaen.es.
⁶ Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
⁷ CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
⁸ IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
⁹ Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. mdelgado@ujaen.es.
¹⁰ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. mdelgado@ujaen.es.
¹¹ CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. mdelgado@ujaen.es.
¹² Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.
¹³ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.
¹⁴ Agri-food Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.
¹⁵ CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.

PMID: 30845651
PMCID: PMC6429205
DOI: 10.3390/molecules24050917

Review

Naturally Lignan-Rich Foods: A Dietary Tool for Health Promotion?

Carmen Rodríguez-García et al. Molecules. 2019.

. 2019 Mar 6;24(5):917.

doi: 10.3390/molecules24050917.

Authors

Carmen Rodríguez-García^{1

2}, Cristina Sánchez-Quesada^{3

4

5}, Estefanía Toledo^{6

7

8}, Miguel Delgado-Rodríguez^{9

10

11}, José J Gaforio^{12

13

14

15}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. crgarcia@ujaen.es.
² Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. crgarcia@ujaen.es.
³ Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. csquesad@ujaen.es.
⁴ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. csquesad@ujaen.es.
⁵ Agri-food Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain. csquesad@ujaen.es.
⁶ Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
⁷ CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
⁸ IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, 31008 Pamplona, Spain. etoledo@unav.es.
⁹ Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. mdelgado@ujaen.es.
¹⁰ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. mdelgado@ujaen.es.
¹¹ CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. mdelgado@ujaen.es.
¹² Center for Advanced Studies in Olive Grove and Olive Oils, University of Jaen, Campus las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.
¹³ Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.
¹⁴ Agri-food Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.
¹⁵ CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. jgaforio@ujaen.es.

PMID: 30845651
PMCID: PMC6429205
DOI: 10.3390/molecules24050917

Abstract

Dietary guidelines universally advise adherence to plant-based diets. Plant-based foods confer considerable health benefits, partly attributable to their abundant micronutrient (e.g., polyphenol) content. Interest in polyphenols is largely focused on the contribution of their antioxidant activity to the prevention of various disorders, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Polyphenols are classified into groups, such as stilbenes, flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans and others. Lignans, which possess a steroid-like chemical structure and are defined as phytoestrogens, are of particular interest to researchers. Traditionally, health benefits attributed to lignans have included a lowered risk of heart disease, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis and breast cancer. However, the intake of naturally lignan-rich foods varies with the type of diet. Consequently, based on the latest humans' findings and gathered information on lignan-rich foods collected from Phenol Explorer database this review focuses on the potential health benefits attributable to the consumption of different diets containing naturally lignan-rich foods. Current evidence highlight the bioactive properties of lignans as human health-promoting molecules. Thus, dietary intake of lignan-rich foods could be a useful way to bolster the prevention of chronic illness, such as certain types of cancers and cardiovascular disease.

Keywords: antioxidants; chronic diseases; diet; health promotion; lignans.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Structural subgroups of lignans (Ar=Aryl).

**Figure 2**
Biosynthetic pathway of lignans. NGT (pinoresinol glucosyltransferase), PSS (piperitol/sesamin synthase), PLR (pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase), LGT (lariciresinol glycosyltransferase), SGT (secoisolariciresinol glycosyltransferase), SID (matairesinol O-methyltransferase), MMT (matairesinol O-methyltransferase), Glc (Glucoside).

**Figure 3**
Chemical structure of enterodiol (A) and enterolactone (B).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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1. Rocha L., Monteiro M., Anderson T. Anticancer Properties of Hydroxycinnamic Acids-A Review. Cancer Clin. Oncol. 2012;1:109–121. doi: 10.5539/cco.v1n2p109. - DOI
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1. Ionkova I. Anticancer lignans—From discovery to biotechnology. Mini Rev. Med. Chem. 2011;10:843–856. doi: 10.2174/138955711796575425. - DOI - PubMed
1. Peterson J., Dwyer J., Adlercreutz H., Scalbert A., Jacques P., McCullough M.L. Dietary lignans: Physiology, potential for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Nutr. Rev. 2010;10:571–603. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00319.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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[1] Marilena V., Olga V., Maria M., Enzo B., Stefano D.P., Carlo B., Giorda A.N., Sebastiano S., Stefania A., Anna C., et al. Rivellese, Polyphenol intake, cardiovascular risk factors in a population with type 2 diabetes: The TOSCA.IT study. Clin. Nutr. 2017;36:1686–1692. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2016.11.002. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Marilena V., Olga V., Maria M., Enzo B., Stefano D.P., Carlo B., Giorda A.N., Sebastiano S., Stefania A., Anna C., et al. Rivellese, Polyphenol intake, cardiovascular risk factors in a population with type 2 diabetes: The TOSCA.IT study. Clin. Nutr. 2017;36:1686–1692. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2016.11.002. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Rocha L., Monteiro M., Anderson T. Anticancer Properties of Hydroxycinnamic Acids-A Review. Cancer Clin. Oncol. 2012;1:109–121. doi: 10.5539/cco.v1n2p109. - DOI

[4] Rocha L., Monteiro M., Anderson T. Anticancer Properties of Hydroxycinnamic Acids-A Review. Cancer Clin. Oncol. 2012;1:109–121. doi: 10.5539/cco.v1n2p109. - DOI

[5] Adlercreutz H. Lignans, human health. Crit. Rev. Clin. Lab. Sci. 2007;44:483–525. doi: 10.1080/10408360701612942. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Adlercreutz H. Lignans, human health. Crit. Rev. Clin. Lab. Sci. 2007;44:483–525. doi: 10.1080/10408360701612942. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Ionkova I. Anticancer lignans—From discovery to biotechnology. Mini Rev. Med. Chem. 2011;10:843–856. doi: 10.2174/138955711796575425. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Ionkova I. Anticancer lignans—From discovery to biotechnology. Mini Rev. Med. Chem. 2011;10:843–856. doi: 10.2174/138955711796575425. - DOI - PubMed

[9] Peterson J., Dwyer J., Adlercreutz H., Scalbert A., Jacques P., McCullough M.L. Dietary lignans: Physiology, potential for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Nutr. Rev. 2010;10:571–603. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00319.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Peterson J., Dwyer J., Adlercreutz H., Scalbert A., Jacques P., McCullough M.L. Dietary lignans: Physiology, potential for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Nutr. Rev. 2010;10:571–603. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00319.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Naturally Lignan-Rich Foods: A Dietary Tool for Health Promotion?

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Naturally Lignan-Rich Foods: A Dietary Tool for Health Promotion?

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