Dietary Lignans: Definition, Description and Research Trends in Databases Development

The study aims to communicate the current status regarding the development and management of the databases on dietary lignans; within the phytochemicals, the class of the lignan compounds is of increasing interest because of their potential beneficial properties, i.e., anticancerogenic, antioxidant, estrogenic, and antiestrogenic activities. Furthermore, an introductory overview of the main characteristics of the lignans is described here. In addition to the importance of the general databases, the role and function of a food composition database is explained. The occurrence of lignans in food groups is described; the initial construction of the first lignan databases and their inclusion in harmonized databases at national and/or European level is presented. In this context, some examples of utilization of specific databases to evaluate the intake of lignans are reported and described.