title: An update on bioactive plant lignans.
abstract: Lignans are a class of secondary plant metabolites produced by oxidative dimerization of two phenylpropanoid units. Although their molecular backbone consists only of two phenylpropane (C6-C3) units, lignans show an enormous structural diversity. There is a growing interest in lignans and their synthetic derivatives due to applications in cancer chemotherapy and various other pharmacological effects. This review deals with lignans possessing anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities, and comprises the data reported in more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, so as to highlight the recently reported bioactive lignans that could be a first step towards the development of potential new therapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: Medicinal Chemistry Research Center, Division of Life Sciences, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul 130-650, Korea.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saleem
authors.forename: Hyoung Ja
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Muhammad Shaiq
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Yong Sup
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017705:Lignans / Q000494:pharmacology; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D017705:Lignans