Thanks for your post Steph.
There was a nag at the back of my mind that I had seen some oils containing lignans, but I did not have time to check it out and felt somebody researching the subject was likely on balance to be right.
Some lignans are fat soluble according to a web search eg. sesamin and sesamoin (what ever they do or are) found in sesame.
I have not as yet found out if the relevant oestrogen "mimick" lignans in flax are soluble which is the question.
The oil itself does not contain the insoluble lignans. It is the other things that get into the oil as part of the pressing process - so I suppose it depend how well it is filtered - which depends on whether you want the product there or not.
So as usual as many questions as answers. We would need an analysis of the type of lignans found in the oil and if the were in suspension or solution.
This is a good article
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...102372160/pg_5
This is an abstract from the
http://www.barleans.com/flaxoil.asp
"What are Lignans?
Lignans are a highly studied and researched class of plant phytonutrients most abundantly found in flaxseed that have recently come to the forefront of nutritional research. Numerous studies have reported on the role of lignans in support of the structure and function of heart and hormonal health.* Barlean's Fresh ExPressed™ extraction process gently liberates delicate Omega-3 flax oil, while capturing lignan flaxseed particulate."
Another site said
http://www.jitinc.com/flax/nutrient.html
Lignans
Flax seed is by far the highest food in lignans, special antioxidants documented to protect against cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and other ailments. Antioxidants help to avert damage done by free radicals, molecular particles that zoom around inside the body seeking a missing electron. A typical antioxidant provides an electron to a free radical which ends its wild, damaging quest.
Flax seed has 100 times the lignan content of the next best food source. There are a total of 27 anti-cancer agents in flaxseed, mostly lignans.
(NOTE: When flax oil is expelled from the seed, most of the lignans are retained in the fiber, not in the oil.)
Some of the lignans are phytoestrogens. The low level of these natural compounds provided by flax seed can help balance female hormones and reduce PMS and other disturbances, without becoming a problem themselves.
http://www.flaxhealth.com/nutritionalcomponents.htm
Lignans
"Lignans are phytoestrogens - compounds found in plants that have weak estrogen activity in animals. [Other common phytoestrogens include isoflavonoids such as daidzein and genistein found in soybeans, some other beans, seeds and whole grain products.10] The richest source of lignans is flaxseed, which contains high levels of the lignan precursor secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG). Lignans are also widely distributed in the plant kingdom, being present in small amounts in most unrefined grains such as barley, buckwheat, millet, and oats; legumes such as soybeans; and some vegetables.
Lignans are not present in appreciable amounts in flaxseed oil.
The flaxseed lignan prescursor SDG is converted by gut bacteria to the main lignans found in humans and other mammals - enterodiol and enterolactone. (Enterodiol and enterolactone are called animal or mammalian lignans to distinguish them from SDG and other plant lignan precursors.) The concentration of enterodiol and enterolactone in urine is related to the concentration of plant lignans in the diet - large intakes of plant lignans result in large amounts of enterodiol and enterolactone excreted in the urine of rats and humans.11 Populations with high fibre diets and high intakes of phytoestrogens such as lignans, tend to have lower rates of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast cancer than Western populations with low fibre intakes.12 Lignans are believed to protect against hormone-sensitive cancers by inhibiting certain enzymes involved in hormone metabolism, reducing the availability of estrogen and interfering with tumour cell growth.13"