Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) has gained worldwide recognition as a health food because of its abundance in diverse nutrients and bioactive compounds such as oil, fatty acids, proteins, peptides, fiber, lignans, carbohydrates, mucilage, and micronutrients. These constituents attribute a multitude of beneficial properties to flaxseed that makes its use possible in various applications, such as nutraceuticals, food products, cosmetics, and biomaterials. The importance of these flaxseed components has also increased in modern times because of the newer trend among consumers of greater reliance on a plant-based diet for fulfilling their nutritional requirements, which is perceived to be hypoallergenic, more environmentally friendly, sustainable, and humane. The role of flaxseed substances in the maintenance of a healthy composition of the gut microbiome, prevention, and management of multiple diseases has recently been elucidated in various studies, which have highlighted its importance further as a powerful nutritional remedy. Many articles previously reported the nutritive and health benefits of flaxseed, but no review paper has been published reporting the use of individual flaxseed components in a manner to improve the techno-functional properties of foods. This review summarizes almost all possible applications of flaxseed ingredients in food products from an extensive online literature survey; moreover, it also outlines the way forward to make this utilization even better.

Lignans are one of the most important and abundant phytochemicals found in flaxseed-diets. These have shown to possess several health-benefits, including anticancer, antioxidant, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and estrogenic-properties etc. The potential of lignans health-promoting effects are circumscribed due to their poor-bioavailability resulting from their bound structure. Recent studies have demonstrated that various food design strategies can enhance the release of bound-lignans from agro-industrial residues, resulting in a higher bioaccessibility and bioavailability. This review focuses primarily on the bioavailability of flaxseed lignans, key factors affecting it and their pharmacokinetics, different strategies to improve the contents of lignans, their release and delivery. Present study will help to deepen our understanding of the applications of lignans and their dietary-supplements in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Several absorption issues of lignans have been observed such as impaired-bioavailability and variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Therefore, the development of novel strategies for optimizing lignan bioavailability is critical to ensure its successful application, such as the delivery of lignans to biological targets via “targeted designs.” In addition, some detailed examination is required to identify and understand the basis of variation in lignans bioavailability caused by interactions with the gastrointestinal system.