The Use of Flaxseed in Gynecology: A Review Article

Background & aim: Flaxseed is the richest source of lignan which is one of the main categories of phytoestrogens. In addition to the estrogenic and anti-estrogenic properties of lignan, it has non-hormonal properties as well. The treatment of menopausal hot flashes and cyclic mastalgia, the reduction in vasomotor symptoms and tumor cell growth and recurrence, the prevention of breast and ovarian cancer,  and the improvement of the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome are some of the indications of this plant. Therefore, the current study aimed to review the effect of flaxseed on the control of menopausal symptoms, premenstrual syndrome as well as breast and ovarian cancers. Methods: In this study, English keywords of mastalgia, mastodynia, ovarian neoplasm, ovarian cancer, breast neoplasm, breast cancer, hot flashes, premenstrual syndrome, flax, flaxseed, lignan, phytoestrogen, and linum usitatissimum along with their Persian equivalents were searched through databases incluing PubMed, Proquest, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, SID, and Magiran. All the selected articles were the clinical trials and case-control studies performed from 1991 to 2017. Finally, 30 English and 8 Persian studies were reviewed in this study. Results: The results obtained from most studies on this plant showed its positive effects on menopausal symptoms, breast cancer, mastalgia, and premenstrual syndrome. Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that due to the high properties of this plant (i.e., the negligible side effects and safe use of it in recommended amounts), it can be used within the field of obstetrics and gynecology.