What the R.F. Heck is: a Lignan?

(See what I did there? That's clever and you know it, even if it is overused)

Getting back to the roots of this blog, it's time I talk about something that made me look it up. The current synthesis our group is working on, a molecule with no name yet, is described as a "Lignan".  It is also described as a number of other things as well, but that's going to require more space than I have to cover it all. But, in an effort to understand more about this molecule, I did have to look up "lignans", and since that's the case, I have to blog about it as well.

Lignans are a group of chemical compounds that are mostly found in plants. They generally take the form of two aromatic ring, usually phenolic, connected by a chain that, on some level, can be considered symmetric. An example of a lignan is Enterodiol.

They are a major subgroup of the estrogen-like phytoestrogens and can act as an anti-oxidant, making them pharmacologically interesting.

What you don't want to do is get these confused with lignins, which are much larger compounds commonly found in wood. (As a side note, most of the artificial vanilla made today comes from lignins as a by-product of the wood-pulping industry.)

However, both lignans and lignins can be formed by a precusor called a monolignol. These most commonly take the form of substituted cinnamyl alcohols.  In fact, the first step of our groups synthesis is forming a substituted cinnamyl alcohol.

If you wanted to go hunting for lignans, you'll most likely find them in sesame seeds and flaxseeds. Mammals can modify some lignans ingested and create their own too. New lignans are being discovered regularly, too. Li, Zhenxing et al. published a paper in Chemistry of Natural compounds describing two lignans found in the roots of the Chinese Fir back in May of this year.

Sorry this post is not as interesting, but its a great way to keep learning and be able to better converse with your peers.

-Woodward