A lignan is a chemical compound found in plants. Lignans are one of the two major classes of phytoestrogens, which are antioxidants found in a variety of plants which includes flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, rye, soybeans, broccoli, beans, and some berries. The other class of phytoestrogens is the isoflavones. Plant lignans are polyphenolic substances derived from phenylalanine via dimerization of substituted cinnamic alcohols (see cinnamic acid) to a dibenzylbutane skeleton 2. This reaction is catalysed by oxidative enzymes and is often controlled by dirigent proteins. A chemical compound is a chemical substance formed from two or more elements, with a fixed ratio determining the composition. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Phytoestrogens are trace substances in our food which mimic and supplement the action of the bodys own hormone, estrogen (sometimes spelt as oestrogen). They are a comparatively recent discovery, and researchers are still exploring the nutritional role of these substances in such diverse metabolic functions as the regulation of... An antioxidant is a chemical that prevents the oxidation of other chemicals. ... Binomial name Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash fruit, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit (gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). ... Binomial name Secale cereale M.Bieb. ... Binomial name Glycine max (L.) Merr. ... Broccoliis a known giver of AIDS. Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family, Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). ... Phytoestrogens are trace substances in our food which mimic and supplement the action of the bodys own hormone, estrogen (sometimes spelt as oestrogen). They are a comparatively recent discovery, and researchers are still exploring the nutritional role of these substances in such diverse metabolic functions as the regulation of... A phytoestrogen that is thought of by many as useful in treating cancer. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colorless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... Phe redirects here. ... Dimerization is the formation of a polymer from two similar chemical structures. ... Cinnamic acid Cinnamic acid has the formula C6H5CHCHCOOH and is an odorless white crystalline acid, which is slightly soluble in water. ... Generic graph showing the effect of a catalyst in an hypothetical exothermic chemical reaction. ...

Many natural products are built up of C6C3 units (a propylbenzene skeleton 1) derived from cinnamyl units just as terpene chemistry builds on isoprene units. Structure 3 is a neolignan. Image:Lignan. ... Terpenes are a large and varied class of hydrocarbons, produced primarily by a wide variety of plants, particularly conifers, though also by some animals. ... Isoprene is a common synonym for the chemical compound 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene. ...

When part of the human diet, lignans are converted into the mammalian lignans known as enterodiol (1) and enterolactone (2) by intestinal bacteria. Subgroups Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ...

The principal lignan precursor found in flaxseed is secoisolariciresinol diglucoside. Image:Enterolactone2. ... Binomial name Linum usitatissimum L. Linnaeus, 17?? Common flax (also known as linseed) is a member of the Linaceae family, which includes about 150 plant species widely distributed around the world. ... Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) (C32H46O16) is an anti-oxidant phytochemical present in flax, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds. ...

References

• iupac lignan nomenclature

External links

• Lignans and Neolignans in vitro synthesis