Lignan

Lignans are a group of substances that occur as a natural product in plants, eg in the taiga root, in the valerian root and in different edible parts of plants such as flax and sesame seeds, grains, fruits and vegetables.

Lignans are colorless, crystalline and odorless compounds. They belong to the upper class of phytoestrogens, estrogen-like substances that act as antioxidants. The so-called Enterolignane are metabolic products formed by the bacterial degradation of plant lignans in the human gut.

Structure

Lignans are characterized by dimer C6C3 body ( phenylpropanoids ), which are connected via the middle ( β )-C - atom. Different structural variants arise by arrangement and combination of the C3 side chains.

In plants, lignans usually come before free or bound glycosidically. By polymerizing the C6C3 body ( = monolignols ) created the so-called lignin, which is found in the plant cell wall and ensures the lignification of plant cells. Lignans and lignin are completely different compounds that should not be confused. Lignin is one of the group of insoluble fiber.

Role and importance of

In the plant lignans act apparently as a defense substances against diseases and infections and appear to exert a control on the plant growth. For humans, plant lignans are also interesting from a nutritional point of view: Because of their estrogen- like effects and other biochemical properties they may be for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases of importance.

Furthermore, lignans used as herbal sedatives. The sleep-promoting effects have them introduced as " Schlaflignane " the term.