Dietary lignans: physiology and potential for cardiovascular disease risk reduction

The present review of the literature on lignan physiology and lignan intervention and epidemiological studies was conducted to determine if lignans decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease in Western populations. Five intervention studies using flaxseed lignan supplements indicated beneficial as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrition reviews 2010-10, Vol.68 (10), p.571-603
Main Authors: Peterson, Julia, Dwyer, Johanna, Adlercreutz, Herman, Scalbert, Augustin, Jacques, Paul, McCullough, Marjorie L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology
Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control
Dietary supplements
Epidemiology
Evidence-Based Medicine
Feeding. Feeding behavior
Flax - chemistry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Intervention
lignans
Lignans - administration & dosage
Lignans - chemistry
Lignans - pharmacology
Low density lipoprotein
review
Risk
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Studies
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:The present review of the literature on lignan physiology and lignan intervention and epidemiological studies was conducted to determine if lignans decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease in Western populations. Five intervention studies using flaxseed lignan supplements indicated beneficial associations with C‐reactive protein, and a meta‐analysis that included these studies also suggested lignans have a lowering effect on plasma total and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol. Three intervention studies using sesamin supplements indicated possible lipid‐ and blood pressure‐lowering associations. Eleven human observational epidemiological studies examined dietary intakes of lignans in relation to cardiovascular disease risk. Five showed decreased risk with either increasing dietary intakes of lignans or increased levels of serum enterolactone (an enterolignan used as a biomarker of lignan intake), five studies were of borderline significance, and one was null. The associations between lignans and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease are promising, but they are yet not well established, perhaps due to low lignan intakes in habitual Western diets. At the higher doses used in intervention studies, associations were more evident.
ISSN:0029-6643
1753-4887
DOI:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00319.x