Cereal Lignans, Natural Compounds of Interest for Human Health?

Abstract

Cereals are suggested to be the most important sources of lignan in the diets of western populations. Recent epidemiological studies show that European subpopulations in which the major source of lignans are cereals, display lower disease frequency regarding metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The biological mechanisms of lignan are several. Beyond their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions at nutritional doses some lignans regulate the activity of specific nuclear receptors (NRs), such as the estrogen receptors (ERs), and also NRs that are central switches in glucose and fatty acid metabolism such as PPARα, PPARγ and LXRs, highlighting them as selective nuclear receptor modulators (SNRMs). These include enterodiol (END) and enterolactone (ENL), the metabolites produced by the gut microbiota from food lignans. The available knowledge suggests that given some additional research it should be possible to make ‘function' claims for a regular intake of lignans-rich foods related to maintaining a healthy metabolism.