Structure, properties and obtention routes of flaxseed lignan secoisolariciresinol: a review

Abstract

Following a brief description of the structure and nomenclature of the lignan family, this review focuses on the flaxseed lignan secoisolariciresinol (SECO). The main properties, the analysis methods and two routes for the preparation of SECO, i.e. extraction from renewable raw material and (hemi)-synthesis, are reviewed. Green methods recently developed for the first route and chemical syntheses inspired from biosyntheses for the second one are the main subjects of this paper.

Keywords

• Lignans
• secoisolariciresinol
• extraction process
• conjugated addition
• enzyme-assisted oxidative coupling
• supercritical CO2
• green chemistry