LIGNAN STUDIES:

The following studies indicated the effect of flaxseed for a healthy body. 

Lignans from FOL (Norwegian Spruce Tree)  are the most potent anti-oxidant created by nature and perfected by science that helps to neutralize free radicals. Lignans from wood extracts have shown Anti-Inflammatory activity to control chronic inflammation.

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE IS 17 times stronger than flax seed.

1. In a recent French study conducted over 7 years with 58,049 female participants concluded: High dietary intakes of plant lignans were associated with reduced risks of breast cancer in aWestern population that does not consume a diet rich in soy

-Published Journal National Cancer Institute 2007;99:475-86. Touilland, Thiebout, et al.

2. “Cancers of the breast and prostate, in their early phase of development, are

hormone dependent and could be influenced by endocrine changes induced by lignans

-Morton MS Wilcox G Wahlqvist ML Griffiths Determination of lignans and isoflavonoids in

human female plasma following dietary supplementation.

3. There is considerable evidence from epidemiological studies correlating high

concentrations of lignans in the body fluids with a low incidence of hormone-dependent

tumors, in particular breast cancer. Kulling SE Jacobs E Pfeiffer -Metzler MStudies on the

genotoxicity of the mammalian lignans enterolactone and enterodiol and their metabolic

precursors at various endpoints in vitro.

In: Mutat Res (1998 Aug 7) 416(1 2):115 24

4. There is a substantial reduction in breast cancer risk among women with a high intake

(as measured by excretion) of phyto-oestrogens - particularly the isoflavonic phyto-

oestrogens equol and the lignan enterolactone. These findings could be important in the

prevention of breast cancer.

-Ingram D Sanders K Kolybaba M Lopez D Case control study of phyto oestrogens and

breast cancer In: Lancet (1997 Oct 4) 350(9083):990 4

5. Phytoestrogens are diphenolic compounds that are present in several plants eatenby human beings. Flaxseed is a particularly abundant source of phytoestrogens. Wheningested in relatively large amounts, phytoestrogens have been shown to have significant estrogen agonists/antagonists effects in animals and humans. There is epidemiological, laboratory and clinical evidence which indicates that phytoestrogens, like certain selective estrogen receptor modulators, have an antiproliferative effect on the breast, and positiveeffects on the lipoprotein profile and bone density. They might also improve some of theclimacteric symptoms. -Brzezinski A & Bebi A. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 85(1): 47, 1999

6. Maximum combined concentrations of lignans, during the linseed supplementalperiod approached 500 ng/ml. This value although representing the total rather than the freefraction, is some 10,000 times the concentration of free oestradiol seen in postmenopausalwomen and similar to the levels of the anti-estrogen Tamoxifin observed with breast cancertreated with 20 mg/day of this drug.

-Morton MS Wilcox G Wahlqvist ML Griffiths K Determination of lignans and isoflavonoids inhuman female plasma following dietary supplementation.

7.  Flaxseed lignans have antitumor, antimitotic, antioxidant and weak estrogenicactivity, are potentially the richest source of phytoestrogens in the human diet and may belinked to a low incidence of breast and colon cancer. Secoisolariciresinol was discovered tobe a very potent antioxidant similar to BHA. No toxicity was found in the lignans.

-Obermeyer W, et al (US Food and Drug Administration, center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Div. Contaminants Chem., Natural Products Branch), Meeting Of The Federation

Of American Societies For Experimental Biology On Experimental Biology March/April, 1993, Faseb J (Fed Am Soc Exp Biol), A863, 1993

8.  Excretion of both equol and enterolactone was associated with a substantia reduction in breast-cancer risk, with significant trends.<./br> -Ingram D Sanders K Kolybaba M Lopez D Case control study of phyto oestrogens and breast cancer In: Lancet (1997 Oct4) 350(9083):990 4

9.  The lower excretion of enterolactone by breast cancer patients in our study accordswith the findings of a previous small study (seven cases) in which enterolactone excretionwas significantly lower in post-menopausal breast cancer patients than in omnivorous and

vegetarian controls.-Ingram D Sanders K Kolybaba M Lopez DCase control study of phyto oestrogens and breast cancer In: 

Lancet (1997 Oct 4) 350(9083):990 4

10.  Mammalian lignans inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells and partially inhibit angiogenesis. Rickard SE Orcheson LJ -Seidl MM Luyengi L Fong HH Thompson LUDose dependent production of mammalian lignans in rats and in vitro from the purifier precursor secoisolariciresinol diglycoside in flaxseed.In: J Nutr (1996 Aug) 126(8):2012 9

11.  Epidemiological studies indicated that plasma levels and urinary excretion of thelignan and isoflavonoid phytoestrogens correlated negatively with rates of breast and prostate cancer.

-Ren S Lien EJ Natural products and their derivatives as cancer chemopreventive agents. In:

Prog Drug Res (1997) 48:147 71

12.  Dietary studies and urinary analysis of lignans in postmenopausal women haveshown that lignan secretion is significantly lower in urine in women with breast cancer than inhealthy omnivorous and vegetarian women.-Tham DM Gardner CD Haskell WLClinical review 97: Potential health benefits of dietaryphytoestrogens: a review of the clinical, epidemiological, and mechanistic evidence.

13.  The lignan enterolactone showed a three-fold reduction (reduction in risk for breastcancer) in risk for the highest compared with the lowest quartile of excretion.-Ingram D Sanders K Kolybaba M Lopez DCase control study of phyto oestrogens and breast cancer In: Lancet (1997 Oct 4) 350(9083):990 4

14.  Lignan excretion in women is usually high in areas with low risk of breast cancer like

North Karelia in Finland and in vegetarians and low in women living in high-risk areas likeBoston, U.S.A. In older women with breast cancer in Boston the excretion was very low andit was relatively low in Finnish young women with breast cancer.-Adlercreutz H Mousavi Y Clark J Hockerstedt K Hamalainen E Wahala K Makela T Hase TDietary phytoestrogens and cancer: in vitro and in vivo studies. In: J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol (1992 Mar) 41(3 8):331 7

15.  Epidemiological data and biological properties of mammalian lignans suggest that

they may have some protective effect against breast and colon cancer. Flaxseed in the most

abundant source of lignan precursors known to date and it may have a high potential to

reduce the risk for these diseases.

-Effect of Flaxseed on Breast and Colon Cancer: A Short Term Study Lilian U. Thompson

Department of Nutritional Sciences; University of Toronto - Toronto, Canada

16. Our studies show that increased excretion of some phyto-oestrogens is associated

with substantial reduction in breast-cancer risk. This finding supports previous observational

studies that reporter higher phyto-estrogen excretion among populations with a low

frequency of breast cancer.

-Ingram D Sanders K Kolybaba M Lopez DCase control study of phyto oestrogens and

breast cancer In: Lancet (1997 Oct 4) 350(9083):990 4

17. Our findings have implications for the control of breast cancer. Early detections by

screening mammography and adjuvant systemic therapy both reduce breast-cancer

mortality, but these techniques do not prevent the occurrence of cancer in the first place.

They do little therefore; to reduce the enormous emotional and physical suffering the disease

causes-nor do they reduce the massive financial cost to the community. Prevention is the

only way to reduce the suffering and cost.

-Ingram D Sanders K Kolybaba M Lopez D Case control study of phyto oestrogens and

breast cancerIn: Lancet (1997 Oct 4) 350(9083):990 4

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the development of diabetes

mellitus. SDG isolated from flaxseed is an antioxidant. An investigation was made of the

effects of SDG on the development of diabetes in rats, to determine if SDG can

prevent/reduce the development of diabetes and if this prevention/reduction is associated

with reduction in oxidative stress. RESULTS: SDG prevented the development of diabetes

by 75%.

-Prasad K, et a, Mol Cell Biochem, 206(1-2): 2000; Prasad K. Mol Cell Biochem, 209(1-2):

89.2000

Flax seed lignans for Hot Flashes— “Lignans in flax offer a ‘natural’, less potent

estrogen effect on hot flashes than synthetic hormone therapy

-Sandhya Pruthi, MD. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Published February 1, 2008

Dietary estrogens, such as lignan-rich flaxseed, are similar in structure to endogenous

sex steroid hormones and act in vivo to alter hormone metabolism and reduce subsequent

cancer risk in postmenopausal women.

-Hutchins A, Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 9(10): 1113, 2000

Because flaxseed and its lignans are colon cancer protective, it is concluded that, in

contrast to other studies, beta-glucuronidase activity may play a beneficial role in their

presence by increasing mammalian lignan absorption and enterohepatic

-Jenab M, et al, Nutr Cancer, 33(2): 154, 1999

Flaxseed, a rich source of mammalian lignan precursor secoisolariciresinol-

diglycoside _SD) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), has been shown to be protective at the

early promotion stage of carcinogensis. In conclusion, the SD lignans in flaxseed appears tobe beneficial throughout the promotional phase of carcinogenesis whereas the oil

components is more effective at the stage when tumors have already been established.

-Thompson L, et al, Carcinogenesis, 17:1373, 1996)

Vitamin E-deficient diets containing 5 to 20% ground flaxseed protected miceagainst the malarial parasite Plasmodium voelii as shown by decreased parasitemia and enhanced survival.

-Levander O, et al, (USDA/ARS Human Nutrition Research Center, Vitamin Mineral Nutrition

Laboratory), Nutrition Research, 11, 1991

Lignans have been extensively investigated for their potential anticancer activity, and several have been used as chemotherapeutic agents.

-Axelson M Sjovall J Gustafsson BE Setchell KDOrigin of lignans in mammals and identification of a precursor from plants.

This study has significance in light of the recent observations that a diet with high-lignan producing capability may reduce the risk for carcinogenesis.-Mammalian Lignan Production From Various Foods Nutrition and Cancer; Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 1991

Flax is a potent source of lignans.... studies suggested that they may interfere with the development of breast, prostate, colon, and other tumors in humans. -Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Vol. 86 No.23. December 7, 1994 pg. 1748

They (lignans) have now been shown to influence not only sex-hormone metabolism

and biological activity but also intracellular enzymes, protein synthesis, growth factor action,

malignant cell proliferation, differentiation and angiogenesis, making them strong candidates

as natural cancer chemo-preventative compounds.

-Ren S Lien EJNatural products and their derivatives as cancer chemopreventive agents. In:

Prog Drug Res (1997) 48:147 71

A great deal of evidence supports the hypothesis that adequate lignan and isoflavone intakes reduce cancer risk. Several papers have reviewed the potential roles of phytoestrogens in preventing breast, colon, and prostate cancer. -Kurzer MS Xu X Dietary phytoestrogens. In: Annu Rev Nutr (1997) 17:353 81

Feeding of SD (the major mammalian lignan precursor in flaxseed) at 1.5 mg/day

resulted in a significant reduction in tumor burden and the number of tumors per number of

rats in the group.

-Thompson LU Seidl MM Rickard SE Orcheson LJ Fong HH Antitumorigenic effect of a

mammalian lignan precursor from flaxseed. In: Nutr Cancer (1996) 26(2):159

Research suggests that SDG reduces hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis and that

this effect is associated with a decrease in serum cholesterol, LDL-C, and lipid peroxidation

product and an increase in HDL-C and antioxidant reserve.

-Prasad K. Circulation, 99(10): 1355, 1999

1. Flaxseed SDG may have a therapeutic role in lupus nephritis. (Clark W. et al Lupus,

9(6): 429, 2000)Asian men have a much lower incidence of prostate cancer and possibly ofbenign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) than Western counterparts. Vegetarian men have a lower incidence of prostate cancer than omnivorous males. Plant lignans give rise to the

mammalian lignans, enterodiol and enterolactone; the richest source is linseed (flaxseed). In addition to their oestrogenic activity, these plant compounds can interfere with steroid metabolism and bioavailability, and also inhibit enzymes, such as tyrosine kinase and topoisomerase, which are crucial to cellular proliferation and hence may contribute to lower incidences of prostrate cancer.

-Eur Urol, 35(5-6): 377, 1999

2. In addition to their inhibition of malignant cell proliferation the lignans may be protective with regard to PC (prostate cancer) or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) due to their moderate aromatase inhibiting activity or to an effect on free testosterone levels via inhibition of LH secretion stimulation of SHBG synthesis. Both group of phytoestrogens show antioxidant properties which may play a role in carcinogenesis.

-Aldercreutz H Makela S Pylkkanen L Santti R Kinzel J van Reijsen M Markkanen H Kamarainen EL Watanabe S Fotsis T et al Dietary phytoestrogens and Prostate Cancer

(Meeting abstract).

Because flaxseed and its lignans are colon cancer protective, it is concluded that, in

contrast to other studies, beta-glucuronidase activity may play a beneficial role in their

presence by increasing mammalian lignan absorption and enterohepatic

-Jenab M, et al, Nutr Cancer, 33(2): 154, 1999

The mammalian lignans enterolactone (EL) and enterodiol (ED) derived from

precursors in foods, particularly flaxseed, have been shown to reduce the mammary tumor

growth due to their antiestrogenic properties. Lignans are growth inhibitors of colon tumorcells and they may act through mechanism(s) other than antiestrogenic activity.

-Sung M, et al, Anticancer Res 18(3A: 1405, 1998

Flaxseed lignans have antitumor, antimitotic, antioxidant and weak estrogenic

activity, are potentially the richest source of phytoestrogens in the human diet and may be

linked to a low incidence of breast and colon cancer. Secoisolariciresinol was discovered to

be a very potent antioxidant similar to BHA. No toxicity was found in the lignans.

-Obermeyer W, et al (US Food and Drug Administration, center for Food Safety and Applied

Nutrition, Div. Contaminants Chem., Natural Products Branch), Meeting Of The Federation

Of American Societies For Experimental Biology On Experimental Biology March/April, 1993,

Faseb J (Fed Am Soc Exp Biol), A863, 1993

Dietary supplementation with secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG), a lignan

precursor isolated from flaxseed, significantly reduced pulmonary metastasis cells and

inhibited the growth of metastatic tumors that formed in the lungs.

-Li D. et al, Cancer Lett, 142(1): 91, 1999

Flaxseed the richest source of lignans reduces metastasis and inhibits the growth of

the metastatic secondary tumors in animals. Flaxseed may be a useful nutritional adjuvant to prevent melanoma metastasis in cancer patients.

-Yan L, et al, Cancer Lett, 124(2): 181, 1998