Dietary Alkylresorcinols and Lignans in the Spanish Diet: Development of the Alignia Database

Abstract

The intake of alkylresorcinols and lignans in Spain is unknown due to the lack of information on the content of these compounds in particular foods. This paper describes the development of the first alkylresorcinol and lignan database adapted to the Spanish diet, including foods items especially relevant for this population. The values of alkylresorcinols and lignans in common foods and beverages were collected from scientific publications in refereed journals, and other foods particularly consumed in Spain, for which values were not available, were analyzed by standardized protocols and included into the database. The Alignia database presents the content of alkylresorcinols in 88 food items and the lignan content of 593 foods and beverages. Using the database, the intake of lignans in Spain, calculated using data from the Food Composition Panel based on household consumption, was estimated to be 0.76 mg/day.

Determinants of dietary lignan intake in a representative sample of young Spaniards: association with lower obesity prevalence among boys but not girls

“…A similar figure was obtained for adults in Spain (0.76 mg/day) using household consumption data. 6 In children, intake increases accordingly to age (Table 2) and the highest values are found for young adults (18-24 years). The literature on dietary lignan intake and body composition is scarce, and exclusive to adults.…”

“…6 The database contains information of 13 dietary lignans on 1390 different entries corresponding to 593 foods and beverages, and is publically available at www.alignia.org. A system for classification according to these quality scores was developed based on: analytical method in relation to the use of appropriate extraction techniques, reporting of validation parameters and limits of detection, number of samples and their origin and overall quality of the paper in which data were published.…”

“…A system for classification according to these quality scores was developed based on: analytical method in relation to the use of appropriate extraction techniques, reporting of validation parameters and limits of detection, number of samples and their origin and overall quality of the paper in which data were published. 6 Food items from the Alignia database were extracted to match the enKid dietary assessment data set entries, and the lignan data with the highest quality score was selected for each entry. This ensured that most of the entries used to calculate intake contained complete information on individual lignans content, and that the most current and complete databases were considered.…”

“…3 Lignans are especially abundant in grains, oilseeds, legumes and cruciferous vegetables. [4][5][6] Six different lignans, that is, pinoresinol, lariciresinol, syringaresinol, medioresinol, matairesinol and secoisolariciresinol can be found at relevant concentrations in the human diet. 7 These dietary lignans are absorbed, and to a certain extent (17%) excreted, 8 although the major fraction undergoes an extensive metabolism by the gut microflora that results in the formation of the so-called enterolignans, 9 attending to their colonic origin.…”

Oilseeds ameliorate metabolic parameters in male mice, while contained lignans inhibit 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation in vitro

“…In a Dutch study (food frequency questionnaires: n = 4,660), the average daily intake of lignans was calculated to be 1,241 lg/day [1]. Intakes between 850 and 5,816 lg/day have been determined in central-south EU [10] and 760 lg/day in Spain [11]. Higher intakes (up to 13.5 mg/day) have been found in Germany [12].…”