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Phytoestrogen and Weight Loss – Lignans

Writer's picture: Wendy Wang, PhD NutritionWendy Wang, PhD Nutrition

Lignans are a group of bioactive, noncaloric, phenolic plant compounds. Flax and sesame seeds are rich sources of lignans, lignans are also found in whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, and wine but in lower concentrations. Higher consumption of certain plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts, predicts less weight gain (1). Lignans, a major phytoestrogen class, may have played a role in the anti-obesity effect of plant foods.


Women in the highest quartile of urinary excretion of total lignans had significantly lower baseline body mass indices than did those in the lowest. Compared with women in the lowest quartile of enterodiol (one of the lignans) excretion, those in the highest quartile gained 0.27 kg/year less weight (95% CI: 0.12, 0.41; P for trend < 0.01) during the 10-year follow-up (1).


7-Hydroxymatairesinol (7-HMR) is a plant lignan abundant in various concentrations in plant foods. 7-HMR limited the increase in body weight (−11 %) and fat mass (−11 %) in the high-fat diet-fed mice. Epididymal adipocyte was 19 % smaller and the liver was less steatotic (−62 %). Also, sugar metabolism was ameliorated by lignan, as shown by a more than 70% decrease in insulin secretion and insulin resistance (2).


Administration of arctiin, a lignan compound found in burdock, significantly decreased the body weight in obese mice fed with the high-fat diet. The epididymal, perirenal or total visceral adipose tissue weights of mice were all significantly lower in the high-fat diet + arctiin group than in the high-fat diet group. Arctiin administration also decreased the sizes of lipid droplets in the epididymal adipose tissue (3).


Arctigenin, a lignan compound, is an aglycone of arctiin. Arctigenin showed an inhibitory effect of weight gain in high fat diet-induced obese mice and regulated various factors related to adipogenesis, including AMPK activation in obese mice. Factors related to energy expenditure were also activated in brown adipose tissue by arctigenin administration (4).


Flaxseed lignan significantly reduced high-fat diet-induced visceral and liver fat accumulation, hyperlipaemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperleptinaemia as shown in mice study (5). Rats fed a lignan-enriched flaxseed powder with a high-fat diet had gained significantly less body weight and fat compared to those fed the high-fat diet alone group (6).


Brown adipose tissue is the site of non-shivering thermogenesis in mammals, wherein energy is dissipated as heat. The aqueous extract of black sesame seed increased in the expression of Uncoupling Protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipocytes from mice. The active component from the extract was purified and identified to be sesaminol diglucoside. Sesaminol diglucoside administration decreased mass of white fat pads and serum glucose levels and increased UCP1 levels in brown adipose tissue thereby protecting mice against high fat-induced weight gain (7).


The benefits of lignans are beyond helping with weight management. Epidemiological studies have revealed that high levels of lignans and isoflavonoids are frequently associated with low breast, prostate, and colon cancer risk, as well as a low risk of coronary heart disease. In European countries, such as Finland and Sweden, the lignan levels are higher in populations with the lowest risk because of high consumption of whole-grain rye bread, berries, and some vegetables (8).


No matter what you may like, flaxseed, whole-grain rye bread, or sesame, eat whole-grain (grains are seeds too) and the lignans content enriched foods can help you enjoy the benefits they bring on body weight control and more.


References:

1. Hu, Y., Song, Y., Franke, A. A., Hu, F. B., van Dam, R. M., & Sun, Q. (2015). A Prospective Investigation of the Association Between Urinary Excretion of Dietary Lignan Metabolites and Weight Change in US Women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 182(6), 503–511.

2. Biasiotto, G., Zanella, I., Predolini, F., Archetti, I., Cadei, M., Monti, E., … Di Lorenzo, D. (2018). 7-Hydroxymatairesinol improves body weight, fat and sugar metabolism in C57BJ/6 mice on a high-fat diet. British Journal of Nutrition, 1–12.

3. Min, B., Lee, H., Song, J. H., Han, M. J., & Chung, J. (2014). Arctiin inhibits adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and decreases adiposity and body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet. Nutrition Research and Practice, 8(6), 655.

4. Han, Y.-H., Kee, J.-Y., Park, J., Kim, H.-L., Jeong, M.-Y., Kim, D.-S., … Hong, S.-H. (2016). Arctigenin Inhibits Adipogenesis by Inducing AMPK Activation and Reduces Weight Gain in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 117(9), 2067–2077.

5. Fukumitsu, S., Aida, K., Ueno, N., Ozawa, S., Takahashi, Y., & Kobori, M. (2008). Flaxseed lignan attenuates high-fat diet-induced fat accumulation and induces adiponectin expression in mice. British Journal of Nutrition, 100(03), 669–676.

6. Park, J. B., & Velasquez, M. T. (2012). Potential effects of lignan-enriched flaxseed powder on bodyweight, visceral fat, lipid profile, and blood pressure in rats. Fitoterapia, 83(5), 941–946.

7. Jahagirdar, A., Usharani, D., Srinivasan, M., & Rajasekharan, R. (2018). Sesaminol diglucoside, a water-soluble lignan from sesame seeds induces brown fat thermogenesis in mice. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

8. Adlercreutz, H. (1998). 5Epidemiology of phytoestrogens. Baillière’s Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 12(4), 605–623.



Picture is from freepik.


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