Lignan

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Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness Tori Hudson, N.D. See book keywords and concepts

Flaxseed flour and its defatted meal (flaxseed meal) are the highest plant producers of lignans. The lignan content of flaxseed meal is 75 times higher than that of seaweeds (the second highest lignan-containing group) and 804 times higher than that of fruits (the lowest lignan-containing group).37 The evidence that lignans can reduce the risk for cancer is still unclear, although the biologic properries of lignans and data from various cultures suggest that they do. Many lignans have antitumor, antioxidant, weak estrogenic, and antiestrogenic characteristics.

Whole Foods Companion: A Guide For Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and lovers of natural foods Dianne Onstad See book keywords and concepts

Flaxseed flour and defatted flaxseed meal, because of their high lignan content, are being used for investigations into the association between high lignan consumption and lowered risk for sex-hormone-dependent cancers. Intestinal bacteria convert plant lignans into entetolactone and enterodiol. These hormonelike substances produce a number of protective effects against breast cancer. Lignans are also found in many other seeds, grains, and legumes. Studies show that omnivorous women with breast cancer typically excrete much lower levels of lignans in their urine than do vegetarian women.

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. See book keywords and concepts

In a recent study in the Journal of Nutrition, 50 g of Sesame Seeds Can Help Burn Fat The point is, these plant chemicals of the lignan family are very good for you indeed. Sesame seed lignans—including the a forementioned sesamin and sesaminol—enhance vitamin E's absorption and availability, improve lipid profiles, and help normalize blood pressure. Animal studies show that sesame lignans enhance the burning of fat by increasing the activity of several liver enzymes that actually break down fatty acids.

Whole Foods Companion: A Guide For Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and lovers of natural foods Dianne Onstad See book keywords and concepts

Flaxseed flour and defatted flaxseed meal, because of their high lignan content, are being used for investigations into the association between high lignan consumption and lowered risk for sex-hormone-dependent cancers. Intestinal bacteria convert plant lignans into entetolactone and enterodiol. These hormonelike substances produce a number of protective effects against breast cancer. Lignans are also found in many other seeds, grains, and legumes. Studies show that omnivorous women with breast cancer typically excrete much lower levels of lignans in their urine than do vegetarian women.

Food Synergy: Unleash Hundreds of Powerful Healing Food Combinations to Fight Disease and Live Well Elaine Magee See book keywords and concepts

German research, meanwhile, has linked plant lignan intake and a reduced risk of breast cancer. Studies there have found that premenopausal women eating a high level of lignans experienced a 64 percent reduction in breast cancer risk. Food sources of lignans besides ground flaxseed include whole grain cereals, berries, vegetables, and fruits in general. At the level of 1 to 2 tablespoons How to Add In Flax Here's a helpful handful of nutrition-boosting add-in ingredients and tips. Go forth and boost your health! / Add ground flaxseed to smoothies (this is my favorite way to add flaxseed).

From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life C. W. Randolph, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

When there are low estrogen levels in your body, these weak lignan estrogens make up for some of the deficiency. When the body is estrogen dominant, however, these lignan estrogens bind to your body's estrogen receptors, thereby reducing human estrogen activity at a cellular level. You can get your daily lignan benefit by adding the above mentioned foods to smoothies, yogurt, or salads. Sesame seed oil (tahini) also makes a delicious salad dressing when mixed with lemon juice, garlic, and water in a blender.

Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness Tori Hudson, N.D. See book keywords and concepts

A recent study demonstrated that plasma levels of equol and enterodiol, two isoflavonoids, were positively associated with a lower cervical dysplasia risk, and in addition found a nonsignificant positive association with enterolactone, a lignan. Consistent with these results, dietary sources of lignans, including garlic, onions, grapefruit, seeds, seaweed, and taro, were positively associated with lowered CIN risk.22 Indole-3-carbinol, found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale, has the potential to prevent and treat several cancers.

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. See book keywords and concepts

The actual seeds contain about 50 to 60 percent of a fatty oil that is characterized by two members of the lignan family: sesamin and sesamolin. When the seeds are refined (as in the making of sesame oil), two other phenolic antioxidants— sesamol and sesaminol—are formed. Now did that clear it up for you? not escape the notice of the manufacturers of bodybuilding supplements, which immediately began offering sesamin supplements for fat loss all over the Internet. Do they work? I have no idea.) Sesame lignans also help reduce cholesterol.

Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG See book keywords and concepts

The active molecular forms of lignans are produced only after they are metabolized by the gut flora, pointing yet again to the fundamental importance of digestive tract health. The lignan enterolactone is a moderate inhibitor of human estrogen synthetase. This lignan binds to or near the active site of the P450 enzyme.28 Research suggests that the high concentration of lignans seen in vegetarians may play a protective role against estrogen-dependent cancers by serving as antipromotional compounds, inhibiting aro-matase in peripheral or cancer cells, and lowering estrogen levels.

Cancer & Natural Medicine: A Textbook of Basic Science and Clinical Research John Boik See book keywords and concepts

For example, podo-phyllotoxin is a cytotoxic lignan occurring in the Podophyllum species. Lignans are primarily found in the woody tissues of plants. The two major mammalian lignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, are produced by the actions of colonic bacteria on plant lignan and other dietary precursors. These mammalian lignans are structurally similar to estrogens, and produce weak estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities.

Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey See book keywords and concepts

Lignan contents of Dutch plant foods: a database including lariciresinol, pinor-esinol, secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol. Br. J. Nutr. 93, 393-402. 31. Kirkman, L. M., Lampe, J. W., Campbell, D. R., Martini, M. C, and Slavin, J. L. (1995). Urinary lignan and isoflavo-noid excretion in men and women consuming vegetable and soy diets. Nutr. Cancer 24, 1-12. 32. Kilkkinen, A., Pietinen, P., Klaukka, T., Virtamo, J., Korhonen, P., and Adlercreutz, H. (2002). Use of oral antimicrobials decreases serum enterolactone concentrations. Am. J. Epidemiol. 155, 472-477. 33. Meydani, S. N.

Food Synergy: Unleash Hundreds of Powerful Healing Food Combinations to Fight Disease and Live Well Elaine Magee See book keywords and concepts

The higher the blood level of the lignan breakdown metabolites (enterodiol and enterolactone), the greater the benefit, the researchers noted. For breast cancer patients, the news on flax also sounds promising. In animal studies, flaxseed increased the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, but no clinical trials on the flaxseed interaction with tamoxifen, or other breast cancer drugs, have been conducted on breast cancer patients. German research, meanwhile, has linked plant lignan intake and a reduced risk of breast cancer.

From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life C. W. Randolph, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

When the body is estrogen dominant, however, these lignan estrogens bind to your body's estrogen receptors, thereby reducing human estrogen activity at a cellular level. You can get your daily lignan benefit by adding the above mentioned foods to smoothies, yogurt, or salads. Sesame seed oil (tahini) also makes a delicious salad dressing when mixed with lemon juice, garlic, and water in a blender. Table 3-1 gives a list of the four belly-blasting food groups and recommended daily amounts. Table 3-1.

PDR for Herbal Medicines, Fourth Edition Thomson Healthcare, Inc. See book keywords and concepts

Based on plasma and other laboratory tests, as well as ultrasound measurement of endothelial vessels, the authors concluded that daily consumption for 6 weeks of the muffin enriched with the lignan complex had no effect on endothelial function (the health of vessel linings) (Hallund 2006). Fatty Acids There are limitations to the body's ability to convert ALA to the cardioprotective elements eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and possibly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Endothelial Function In a randomized study, 22 healthy postmenopausal women consumed a diet containing a muffin enriched with a plant compound (a lignan complex) isolated from Flaxseed— secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG)—hypothesized to be protective to the heart in postmenopausal women as a result of the complex's structural similarity to estrogen. The low-fat muffin provided 500 mg/d of SGD.

The aim of this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was to investigate the effects of dietary flaxseed on tumor biological markers and urinary lignan excretion in postmenopausal patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. The results suggest that dietary flaxseed has the potential to reduce tumor growth (Thompson et al, 2005). Cholesterol In a randomized double-blind clinical trial, 56 participants received 3 g/d of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) derived from flaxseed oil in capsules (n=31) or olive oil containing placebo capsules (n=25) for 26 weeks.

No antibacterial activity was noted for the butyrolactone lignan glycoside arctiin and its aglycone, arctigenin, isolated from burdock achenes, against a variety of gram-positive and -negative organisms in vitro (Ryu et al, 1995). Anti-Inflammatory Effects: A hot aqueous extract of achenes of burdock exhibited significant activity at inhibiting platelet-activating factor (PAF) binding to platelets in vitro (Iwakami et al, 1992). Methanol extracts from burdock achenes showed anticomplementary activity at a concentration of 0.05 g crude material/mL (6.3 mg/mL of the extract) in vitro.

From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life C. W. Randolph, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

You can get your daily lignan benefit by adding the above mentioned foods to smoothies, yogurt, or salads. Sesame seed oil (tahini) also makes a delicious salad dressing when mixed with lemon juice, garlic, and water in a blender. Table 3-1 gives a list of the four belly-blasting food groups and recommended daily amounts. Table 3-1.

Prescription for Dietary Wellness: Using Foods to Heal Phyllis A. Balch, CNC See book keywords and concepts

Type: Lignan Lignan acts as an antioxidant, blocks body chemicals known as prostaglandins, and inhibits the production of estrogen by fatty tissues. lignan helps lower cholesterol levels, protects against colon cancer, and helps to prevent the formation of gallstones. Food sources include barley, fatty fish, flaxseeds, legumes, millet, oats, plums, rice, soybeans, spelt, walnuts, and wheat. Class: Thiols Thiols are sulfur-containing phytochemicals. They are found in garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables.

The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants, in a Quick-study, One-stop Guide Brigitte Mars, A.H.G. See book keywords and concepts

Constituents B vitamins, pangamic acid, calcium, potassium, silicon, flavonoids (scutellarin), lignan, tannin, essential oil, scutellonin, bitter (scutellaine), palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, phenols, tannin Energetic Correspondences • Flavor: bitter • Temperature: cold • Moisture: dry • Polarity: yin • Planet: Saturn/Mercury/Neptune/Pluto • Element: water Contraindications Avoid during pregnancy. Large doses may cause confusion and giddiness.

Constituents Iron, essential oils (safrole, asarone, eugenol, pinene, myristicin, thujone, anethole), alkaloids (boldine, norboldine, reticuline), sitosterol, lignan, mucilage, tannin, resin Energetic Correspondences • Flavor: pungent • Temperature: warm • Moisture: moist • Polarity: yang • Planet: Mars/Jupiter • Element: fire Contraindications In the 1960s there arose some controversy about one of sassafras's components, safrole, which was shown to cause liver cancer in rats. The studies were done with large amounts of isolated safrole, not with sassafras bark as a whole.

Handbook of Medicinal Plants Amarjit S. Basra See book keywords and concepts

Lignans A number of lignan compounds isolated from the kernels of genus Schisandra lower elevated serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) levels and help central nervous system (CNS) depression. All derivatives of dibebzo-cycloctene series isolated from the fruit of Schisandra were tested for lowering SGPT levels. Biphenyldimethoxy-dicarboxylate (see Figure 4.13, part 66) was developed for used to treat chronic virus hepatitis in clinics. Other Phenolic Types Gastrodin (see Figure 4.13, part 67) is a phenol glucoside obtained from Gastrodia elata Blume.

The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants, in a Quick-study, One-stop Guide Brigitte Mars, A.H.G. See book keywords and concepts

Constituents Potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids, latex (guttapercha), alkaloids, lignan glycosides, pinoresinol, iridoids (acubin), geniposide, reptoside Energetic Correspondences • Flavor: sweet, mildly pungent • Temperature: warm • Moisture: dry • Polarity: yang • Planet: Jupiter • Element: fire Contraindications Avoid eucommia in cases of excessive heat or yin deficiency. Large doses can be sedative but are not considered dangerous. Range and Appearance Eucommia is native to central China, where it grows in mountainous regions at sunny woodland edges.

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. See book keywords and concepts

WORTH NOTING Some high-quality flaxseed oils have been specially designed to have a high lignan content. Look for those. And remember, never cook with the oil, just keep it in the fridge and either take it as a supplement or use it on salads or already-cooked vegetables. Cooking damages the delicate omega-3 fats, which don't stand up to heat at all. One other thing: There has been much discussion in the nutritional community about the pros and cons of flaxseed oil vs. fish oil. I've been one of those who has come down squarely on the side of fish oil for those who are only going to take one.

101 Foods That Could Save Your Life! David W. Grotto, RD, LDN See book keywords and concepts

Women with high levels of enterolactone (a weak phytoestrogen), linked to high lignan intake from foods like flax, have been shown to experience a fifty-eight percent reduction of breast cancer risk. COLON CANCER: An animal study found supplementation of flaxseed oil to be effective in preventing colon tumor development whereas corn oil, mostly omega-6 fats, promoted tumor growth. DIABETES: The addition of flax or components of flax in animal studies slowed the onset of type 2 diabetes and protected kidneys from the typical damage caused by diabetes.

The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D. See book keywords and concepts

Probably for this reason, high lignan levels in urine (and therefore dietary intake) have been linked to protection from breast cancer (page 65) in humans.15 Where is it found? Whole grains are particularly high in insoluble fiber. Oats (page 716), barley, beans, fruit (but not fruit juice), psyllium (page 732), and some vegetables contain significant amounts of both forms of fiber and are the best sources of soluble fiber. The best source of lignan, by far, is flaxseed (page 517) (not flaxseed oil, regardless of packaging claims to the contrary).

101 Foods That Could Save Your Life! David W. Grotto, RD, LDN See book keywords and concepts

TUMORS: A cell line study showed that phytoestrogen and lignan extracts from rye significantly inhibited cancer cell proliferation. / PROSTATE CANCER: A rye bran diet was fed to mice that had developed prostate cancer. Apoptosis (cell death) increased over thirty percent and tumor cell reduction increased over twenty percent in the mice fed rye bran. COLON CANCER: Another mouse study found that feeding mice with colon cancer a balanced high-fat diet with rye bran supplementation for 12 to 31 weeks was associated with a significant decrease in the number of tumors.

PDR for Herbal Medicines, Fourth Edition Thomson Healthcare, Inc. See book keywords and concepts

Flaxseed and it's lignan precursor, secoisolariciresinol diglycoside, affect pregnancy outcome and reproductive development in rats. J Nutr; 128(11):1861-1868. 1998. Foeniculum vulgare See Fennel Fool's Parsley Aethusa cynapium description Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the entire fresh plant and the dried aerial parts (herb). Flower and Fruit: The plant has white long-stemmed umbels with many florets and no involucre. The calyx has 5 fused sepals. There are 5 white (sometimes reddish), obcordate, irregular petals. The flowers have 5 stamens and a 2-valved ovate ovary.

Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG See book keywords and concepts

The lignan enterolactone is a moderate inhibitor of human estrogen synthetase. This lignan binds to or near the active site of the P450 enzyme.28 Research suggests that the high concentration of lignans seen in vegetarians may play a protective role against estrogen-dependent cancers by serving as antipromotional compounds, inhibiting aro-matase in peripheral or cancer cells, and lowering estrogen levels.29 Phytosterols At one time, sterols were considered to be mainly animal products, but an increasing number of such compounds have been detected in plant tissues.

Cancer & Natural Medicine: A Textbook of Basic Science and Clinical Research John Boik See book keywords and concepts

The two major mammalian lignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, are produced by the actions of colonic bacteria on plant lignan and other dietary precursors. These mammalian lignans are structurally similar to estrogens, and produce weak estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities. Their production in the gut may serve to protect against breast cancer in humans, presumably by competing with estrogen for estrogen binding sites (Serraino and Thompson, 1992). Due to their limited estrogenic activity, those lignans that do successfully bind produce a lower estrogenic response than would estrogen.

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