Lignans compounds metabolism

Sesame oil affects cholesterol mobility in the human organism. To study the potential activity of other kinds of compounds, Hirose et al. [222] analysed the effects of sesamin, a lignan present in the oil, on various aspects of cholesterol metabolism, and they observed that a diet with sesamin reduced the concentration of serum and liver cholesterol except in the group free of cholesterol. Sesamin decreased lymphatic absorption of cholesterol and increased the fecal excretion of the neutral but not the acidic form. At the liver level, there was a significant reduction in the activity of microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, but the activity of hepatic cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase were not affected. Microscopic histological examination did... 

In that context, the present chapter gives insights into the relevance of phenolic compounds in human nutrition. We will primarily discuss bioavailability and biological properties of isoflavones and lignans in the context of human health and disease, our main focus being the metabolic activities of intestinal bacteria. 

However, there are exceptions, such as the isoflavone irilone, which seems to be resistant to bacterial conversion [85]. Gut bacteria catalyze an array of dominant core reactions that play key roles in the metabolism of a large panel of phenolic compounds, including isoflavones and lignans (I) hydrolysis of esterified and conjugated bounds, (II) deglycosylation (removal of sugar moieties),... 

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