Lignans in seeds of Linum species

► Seeds of 23 Linum taxa were analyzed for non-polar as well as polar lignans by HPLC/ESI-MSMS. ► The overall distribution of 23 lignans (some aryltetralin esters) correlates with phylogeny. ► 8R,8′R-SDG co-occurs with arylnaphthalene-/dihydronaphthalene cyclolignans. ► 8S,8′S-SDG is restricted to the L. usitatissimum group (insignificant amounts of cyclolignans). ► Seeds of taxa accumulating aryltetralin lignans do not contain SDG in either form.