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Flax
The genus Linum
Edited by
Alister D. Muir and Neil D. Westcott
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada
Copyright © 2003 Taylor & Francis
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First published 2003 by Taylor & Francis
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc,
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Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd
Typeset in 11/12pt Garamond by
Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in
this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However,
neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility or
liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug
administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical equipment
mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to consult the
manufacturer’s guidelines.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Flax : the genus linum / edited by Alister D. Muir and Neil D. Westcott.
p. cm. — (Medicinal and aromatic plants—industrial profiles;
v. 34)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
1. Flax. 2. Flax—Therapeutic use. I. Muir, Alister D. II. Westcott,
Neil D. III. Series.
SB253 .F58 2003
583′.79—dc21 2002155288
ISBN 0-415-30807-0
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Contents
Contributors
Preface to the series
Preface
1 Introduction: history of the cultivation and uses of flaxseed
MARION VAISEY-GENSER AND DIANE H. MORRIS
2 Cultivated flax and the genus Linum L.: Taxonomy and
germplasm conservation
AXEL DIEDERICHSEN AND KEN RICHARDS
3 Chemical studies on the constituents of Linum spp.
NEIL D. WESTCOTT AND ALISTER D. MUIR
4 Cultivation of flax
ANATOLY MARCHENKOV, TATIANA ROZHMINA,
IGOR USCHAPOVSKY AND ALISTER D. MUIR
5 Principal diseases of flax
KHALID Y. RASHID
6 Principal insect pests of flax
IAN L. WISE AND JULIANA J. SOROKA
7 The contribution of αα-linolenic acid in flaxseed to human health
STEPHEN C. CUNNANE
8 The role of flaxseed lignans in hormone-dependent and
independent cancer
SHARON E. RICKARD-BON AND LILIAN U. THOMPSON
9 Flaxseed in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases
KAILASH PRASAD
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10 Flaxseed and flaxseed lignans: Effects on the progression and
severity of renal failure
WILLIAM F. CLARK AND MALCOLM OGBORN
11 Mammalian metabolism of flax lignans
ALISTER D. MUIR AND NEIL D. WESTCOTT
12 Flaxseed constituents and human health
ALISTER D. MUIR AND NEIL D. WESTCOTT
13 Traditional food and medicinal uses of flaxseed
N. LEE PENGILLY
14 Use of flaxseed in animal diets to create consumer products with
modified fatty acid profiles
SHEILA E. SCHEIDELER
15 Current market trends and economic importance of oilseed flax
JOHN R. DEAN
16 Current regulatory status of flaxseed and commercial products
ALISTER D. MUIR AND NEIL D. WESTCOTT
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Contributors
William F. Clark Diane H. Morris
Department of Medicine President, Mainstream Nutrition
The University of Western Ontario 904-130 Carlton St, Toronto
London Health Sciences Center Ontario M5H 4K3
800 Commissioners Road East Canada
London, Ontario N6A 4G5
Canada Alister D. Muir
Bioproducts and Processing
Saskatoon Research Center
Stephen C. Cunnane
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Department of Nutritional Sciences
107 Science Place, Saskatoon
Faculty of Medicine
Saskatchewan S7N 0X2
FitzGerald Building
Canada
University of Toronto
150 College Street, Toronto
Ontario M5S 1A8 Malcolm Ogborn
Canada Department of Pediatrics
Winnipeg Children’s Hospital
The University of Manitoba
John R. Dean
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3A 1S1
Agricore United
Canada
Box 6600, 201 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3A7
N. Lee Pengilly
Canada
Saskatchewan Flax Development
Commission
Axel Diederichsen A5A 116 103rd Street, Saskatoon
PGRC, Saskatoon Research Center
Saskatchewan S7N 1Y7
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Canada
107 Science Place, Saskatoon
Saskatchewan S7N 0X2
Kailash Prasad
Canada
Professor Emeritus
Department of Physiology
Anatoly Marchenkov College of Medicine
All-Russian Flax Research Institute University of Saskatchewan
(VNIIL), 35, Lunacharsgogo Str. 107 Wiggins Rd, Saskatoon,
172060 Torzhok Saskatchewan S7N E5E
Russian Federation Canada
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Khalid Y. Rashid Lilian U. Thompson
Morden Research Center Department of Nutritional Sciences
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Faculty of Medicine
Morden, Manitoba R6M 1Y5 University of Toronto
Canada 150 College St., Toronto
Ontario M5S 3E2
Canada
Ken Richards
PGRC, Saskatoon Research Center
Igor Uschapovsky
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
All-Russian Flax Research Institute
107 Science Place, Saskatoon
(VNIIL), 35, Lunacharsgogo Str.
Saskatchewan S7N 0X2
172060 Torzhok
Canada
Russian Federation
Sharon E. Rickard-Bon* Marion Vaisey-Genser
Department of Nutritional Sciences Professor and Senior Scholar
Faculty of Medicine Department of Human Nutritional
University of Toronto Sciences
150 College St., Toronto Faculty of Human Ecology
Ontario M5S 3E2 University of Manitoba, Winnipeg
Canada Manitoba R3T 2N2
Canada
Tatiana Rozhmina Neil D. Westcott
All-Russian Flax Research Institute Bioproducts and Processing
(VNIIL), 35, Lunacharsgogo Str. Saskatoon Research Center
172060 Torzhok Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Russian Federation 107 Science Place, Saskatoon
Saskatchewan S7N 0X2
Canada
Sheila E. Scheideler
Professor of Animal Science
Ian L. Wise
Institute of Agriculture and
Breeding and Genetics
Natural Resources
Cereals Research Center
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0908
195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg
USA
Manitoba R3T-2M9
Canada
Juliana J. Soroka
Ecological Pest Management *Current Address
Saskatoon Research Center St. Joseph’s Care Group
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada 35 Algoma Street North
107 Science Place, Saskatoon P.O. Box 3251
Saskatchewan S7N 0X2 Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5G7
Canada Canada
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Preface to the series
There is increasing interest in industry, academia and the health sciences in medicinal
and aromatic plants. In passing from plant production to the eventual product used by
the public, many sciences are involved. This series brings together information which is
currently scattered through an ever increasing number of journals. Each volume gives an
in-depth look at one plant genus, about which an area specialist has assembled information
ranging from the production of the plant to market trends and quality control.
Many industries are involved such as forestry, agriculture, chemical, food, flavour,
beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and fragrance. The plant’s raw materials are
roots, rhizomes, bulbs, leaves, stems, barks, wood, flowers, fruits and seeds. These yield
gums, resins, essential (volatile) oils, fixed oils, waxes, juices, extracts and spices for
medicinal and aromatic purposes. All these commodities are traded worldwide. A
dealer’s market report for an item may say ‘Drought in the country of origin has
forced up prices’.
Natural products do not mean safe products and account of this has to be taken by
the above industries, which are subject to regulation. For example, a number of plants
which are approved for use in medicine must not be used in cosmetic products.
The assessment of safe-to-use starts with the harvested plant material which has to
comply with an official monograph. This may require absence of, or prescribed limits
of, radioactive material, heavy metals, aflatoxin, pesticide residue, as well as the
required level of active principle. This analytical control is costly and tends to exclude
small batches of plant material. Large scale contracted mechanised cultivation with
designated seed or plantlets is now preferable.
Today, plant selection is not only for the yield of active principle, but for the
plant’s ability to overcome disease, climatic stress and the hazards caused by mankind.
Such methods as in vitro fertilization, meristem cultures and somatic embryogenesis
are used. The transfer of sections of DNA is giving rise to controversy in the case of
some end-uses of the plant material.
Some suppliers of plant raw material are now able to certify that they are supply-
ing organically-farmed medicinal plants, herbs and spices. The European Union direct-
ive (CVO/EU No 2092/91) details the specifications for the obligatory quality controls
to be carried out at all stages of production and processing of organic products.
Fascinating plant folklore and ethnopharmacology leads to medicinal potential.
Examples are the muscle relaxants based on the arrow poison, curare, from species of
Chondrodendron, and the anti-malarials derived from species of Cinchona and Artemisia.
The methods of detection of pharmacological activity have become increasingly reli-
able and specific, frequently involving enzymes in bioassays and avoiding the use of
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laboratory animals. By using bioassay-linked fractionation of crude plant juices or extracts,
compounds can be specifically targeted which, for example, inhibit blood platelet aggrega-
tion, or have anti-tumour, or anti-viral, or any other required activity. With the assist-
ance of robotic devices, all the members of a genus may be readily screened. However,
the plant material must be fully authenticated by a specialist.
The medicinal traditions of ancient civilizations such as those of China and India
have a large armamentaria of plants in their pharmacopoeias which are used through-
out South-East Asia. A similar situation exists in Africa and South America. Thus, a
very high percentage of the world’s population relies on medicinal and aromatic plants
for their medicine. Western medicine is also responding. Already in Germany all med-
ical practitioners have to pass an examination in phytotherapy before being allowed to
practise. It is noticeable that throughout Europe and the USA, medical, pharmacy and
health related schools are increasingly offering training in phytotherapy.
Multinational pharmaceutical companies have become less enamoured of the single
compound magic bullet cure. The high costs of such ventures and the endless com-
petition from “me too” compounds from rival companies often discourage the attempt.
Independent phytomedicine companies have been very strong in Germany. However,
by the end of 1995, eleven (almost all) had been acquired by the multinational phar-
maceutical firms, acknowledging the lay public’s growing demand for phytomedicines
in the Western World.
The business of dietary supplements in the Western World has expanded from the
health store to the pharmacy. Alternative medicine includes plant-based products.
Appropriate measures to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of these either already
exist or are being answered by greater legislative control by such bodies as the Food
and Drug Administration of the USA and the recently created European Agency for
the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, based in London.
In the USA, the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 recognized
the class of phytotherapeutic agents derived from medicinal and aromatic plants.
Furthermore, under public pressure, the US Congress set up an Office of Alternative
Medicine and this office in 1994 assisted the filing of several Investigational New Drug
(IND) applications, required for clinical trials of some Chinese herbal preparations. The
significance of these applications was that each Chinese preparation involved several
plants and yet was handled as a single IND. A demonstration of the contribution to
efficacy, of each ingredient of each plant, was not required. This was a major step for-
ward towards more sensible regulations in regard to phytomedicines.
My thanks are due to the staff of Taylor & Francis publishers who have made this
series possible and especially to the volume editors and their chapter contributors for
the authoritative information.
Roland Hardman, 1997
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Preface
Linum usitatissimum is a widely distributed Mediterranean and temperate climate zone
oilseed that has a long history of traditional use both as an industrial oil and a fiber
crop. However in North America and in Western Europe, its use as a food and medi-
cinal crop is less well known in spite of an equally long history of traditional use for
these purposes. Known as linseed in the United Kingdom and many of its former colonies,
or flax in North America, the oilseed cultivars of this species are now the predom-
inant forms that are grown around the world, while fiber cultivars have declined in
importance as synthetic fibers have displaced linen fibers from many of their tradi-
tional uses. Although the primary focus of this book is on the medicinal and nutri-
tional constituents of the seed of Linum usitatissimum, several other Linum spp. contain
podophyllotoxin derivatives that have biological activity or potential for use in the semi-
synthesis of anticancer drugs (Chapter 3).
Beginning in the mid-1980s there has been a steadily growing interest in the
medicinal and nutraceutical value of flax. At first, interest was concentrated on the
biological activity of the omega-3 fatty acid α-linolenic acid (Chapter 7). As time passed
and more investigators focused on the biological activity of flax, other biologically
active molecules were identified including the flax lignans and soluble dietary fiber
(Chapter 12). The experimental evidence for the role of flax lignans in preventing
cancer is described in considerable detail in Chapter 8. The role of lignans in the
prevention of cardiovascular diseases and the associated reduction in risk factors is
described in Chapter 9. The potential for flaxseed and flax lignans to delay the pro-
gression and severity of lupus nephritis and other kidney diseases is documented in
Chapter 10. Even the cyanogenic glycosides, long perceived to be anti-nutritional, may
have a protective effect from selenium toxicity (Chapter 12). Flax lignans are converted
to a number of different compounds in the mammalian GI tract. These compounds,
including the mammalian lignans, undergo enterohepatic circulation after initial
absorption (Chapter 11). The lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside and several of its
metabolites also possess significant antioxidant activity resulting in a series of oxidized
metabolites.
While the primary focus of this book is on the human use of flaxseed, increasing
attention is being placed on modification of animal diets to modify the fatty acid profile
of meat and dairy products (Chapter 14).
In keeping with other books in this series, Chapters 1 and 13 focus on the history
of the traditional food and medicinal uses of flaxseed and provide a fascinating com-
pilation of the diverse uses humans have found for this crop. The correct identification
of medicinal plants has long been a problem for the medicinal plant industry. While
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correct identification of Linum usitatissimum as it applies to the commercial species is
rarely a problem, the taxonomy of this genus is complicated and there are few reliable
English language resources available on this subject. We are very pleased therefore to
be able to present in Chapter 2 a detailed analysis of the taxonomy and genetic resources
of this economically important species. As we become more aware of the biological
activity of compounds such as the lignans, knowledge and conservation of the genetic
resources of this genus will become increasingly important in the future as the few
remaining wild populations of Linum species come under increasing pressure from human
activities.
Fortunately the commercial sources of flaxseed are not in any danger of extinction
as flax is cultivated in many countries around the world. The main growing areas for
flax (both fiber and oilseed) are documented in Chapter 4, along with descriptions
of the typical agronomic practices for flax production in each region. The diseases
(Chapter 5) and insect pests (Chapter 6) encountered by flax growers around the world
are described along with the preferred strategies for their control.
The commercial trade in flaxseed and its oil are described in Chapter 15, while the
current regulatory status of flax products for human consumption is described in Chap-
ter 16.
This book is intended to give the reader a comprehensive overview of the present
knowledge of this genus, both from the perspective of producing the crop as well as
its many uses, both old and new. As a result of the rapidly growing interest in flax
and the wide range of biological activities associated with constituents of this plant,
flax is emerging as a strong rival for soybean as a major nutraceutical crop.
We wish to thank Mr Ralph Underwood for his many contributions to the art
work in this book, to the library staff of the Saskatoon Research Center for locating
many obscure references and to our colleagues at the Center for their many helpful
suggestions.
Copyright © 2003 Taylor & Francis
