Secoisolariciresinol


Secoisolariciresinol is a lignan, a type of phenylpropanoid. It is present in the water extract of silver fir wood, where its content is more than 5%. It is also present in nettle brew. Its content in flaxseed was found to be 0.3%, which is the highest known content in food.
In the intestine the gut microflora can form secoisolariciresinol from the secoisolariciresinol diglucoside and it can than be further transformed into the enterolignan enterodiol. Epidemiological studies showed associations between secoisolariciresinol intake 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.

Glycosides