Lignans constitute a group of phytochemicals widely distributed in the human diet. Once ingested, most dietary lignans are metabolized by the gut microflora to enterolactone and enterodiol, also known as enterolignans. Together with isoflavones and coumestrol, enterolignans have been traditionally classified as phytoestrogens, plant-derived compounds that exhibit estrogen-like activity. In addition to a higher intake of vegetables, many studies have suggested that the presence of phytoestrogens in the Japanese diet is one of the factors that might explain the reduced incidence of certain chronic diseases in Japanese populations compared with Western countries. Being a vegetable-based diet, exposure to dietary lignans should be high, but to assess this exposure, a lignan food database is required. Stable isotope-dilution gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to quantify six plant lignans in 86 food items commonly consumed in Japan. These data will complement the previous databases and most importantly expand the knowledge of occurrence of lignans in food to Eastern diets.

The worldwide incidence and mortality of gastric cancer (GC) remain high, and new concepts for diagnosis and treatment are needed. In this review, we summarize recent studies that applied next-generation sequencing approaches and also report the latest development in microRNA research. Two recently published studies identified somatic mutations in ARID1A gene in GC using exome sequencing. On the other hand, dysregulation of micro-RNA expression can alter processes such as proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis. These novel markers may prove to be useful in earlier diagnosis and as prognostic or predictive markers in patients with GC .Gastric cancer (GC) is currently the fourth most common cancer worldwide, and 8% of the newly diagnosed cancer cases are malignancies of the stomach. Over 700,000 people die each year from GC, which makes it the second leading cause for cancer-related deaths [1]. GC is an asymptomatic disease at early stages and is therefore often detected late; the 5-year survival being only 20-30% [2]. As treatment modalities are limited, new approaches for diagnosis and treatment are necessary. This review focuses on recent discoveries by using next-generation sequencing and novel insights in the field of microRNA biology in GC.