The chain length of lignan macromolecule from flaxseed hulls is determined by the incorporation of coumaric acid glucosides and ferulic acid glucosides.

Lignan macromolecule from flaxseed hulls is composed of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) and herbacetin diglucoside (HDG) moieties ester-linked by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid (HMGA), and of p-coumaric acid glucoside (CouAG) and ferulic acid glucoside (FeAG) moieties ester-linked directly to SDG. The linker molecule HMGA was found to account for 11% (w/w) of the lignan macromolecule. Based on the extinction coefficients and RP-HPLC data, it was determined that SDG contributes for 62.0% (w/w) to the lignan macromolecule, while CouAG, FeAG, and HDG contribute for 12.2, 9.0, and 5.7% (w/w), respectively. Analysis of fractions of lignan macromolecule showed that the higher the molecular mass, the higher the proportion of SDG was. An inverse relation between the molecular mass and the proportion (%) CouAG+FeAG was found. Together with the structural information of oligomers of lignan macromolecule obtained after partial saponification, it is hypothesized that the amount of CouAG+FeAG present during biosynthesis determines the chain length of lignan macromolecule. Furthermore, the chain length was estimated from a model describing lignan macromolecule based on structural and compositional data. The average chain length of the lignan macromolceule was calculated to be three SDG moieties with CouAG or FeAG at each of the terminal positions, with a variation between one and seven SDG moieties.