Flax Terpenoid Pathway as a Source of Health Promoting Compounds

Flax is an important crop plant grown mainly for its fiber and seeds, which are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids and valuable antioxidants derived from the terpenoid pathways including carotenoids, tocochromanols and sterols. Many of those components found in flax have been recently shown to positively influence human health. Although terpenes vary greatly in their chemical structure, mainly two mechanisms of their biological activity can be considered: direct antioxidation, and a recently explored one, connected to specific receptor and cell signaling pathway activation. Recent studies show that many of the health promoting agents derived from flax act through both of the mentioned mechanisms, resulting in synergistic physiological effects. The work summarizes the two mechanisms, focusing mainly on the one involving cell signaling, as a promising target for medicine and pharmacotherapy.