One Swedish study found that levels of enterolactone and
enterodiol in the blood that were above the median of the women studied were associated with lower risk of reduced ERα + and ERβ - breast cancer, but not ERβ + or other subtypes of breast cancer.
Lignans, such
as enterodiol and enterolactone, are nonessential nutrients, which are chemically polyphenols formed during the fermentation — by normal large intestinal bacteria — of certain plant foods, such as flax seeds [1].
These phenolic compounds can be metabolized to the mammalian
lignans enterodiol (ED) and enterolactone (EL) by human intestinal microflora.
Sesame seed lignans are converted in the human intestine to the estrogen - like compounds enterolactone and
enterodiol.
Some of the most common industrial hormones are those that mimic the effects of estrogens, including dichlorodiphenyl - trichloroethane (DDT), bisphenol A, diethylstilbestrol (DES), genistein and
enterodiol.
Some cell and animal studies have shown that two specific phytoestrogens found in lignans, named enterolactone and
enterodiol, may help suppress breast tumor growth.
These compounds are further metabolized to equol,
enterodiol, and enterolactone by intestinal bacteria [39].