Beneficial Effects of Dietary Flaxseed on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to investigate whether dietary flaxseed could improve liver health and lipid composition in obese rats with NAFLD, particularly when consuming a high-fat, high-sucrose diet.
Results Summary
Flaxseed supplementation in obese rats reduced liver weight, lowered plasma enzyme levels (indicating reduced tissue injury), and improved hepatic cholesterol, triglyceride, and fatty acid profiles, even when consuming an unhealthy HFHS diet. The effects were more pronounced in male rats.
Population
Obese male and female JCR:LA-corpulent rats, along with their lean counterparts.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
12 weeks
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HFHS diet | increase | plasma levels of both aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase | obese male and female rats | two-fold | induced a significant two-fold elevation | #1 |
including flaxseed in the HFHS diet | decrease | liver weight | obese male and female rats | - | significantly lowered | #2 |
including flaxseed in the HFHS diet | decrease | plasma levels of both enzymes | obese male rats | - | depressed | #3 |
including flaxseed in the HFHS diet | decrease | hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride content | obese male and female rats | - | reduced | #4 |
including flaxseed in the HFHS diet | increase | fatty acid profile | obese male and female rats | - | improving | #5 |
including flaxseed in the diet | increase | lipid composition in the liver | male and female obese rats | - | led to an improved | #6 |
including flaxseed in the diet | decrease | biomarkers of tissue injury | male and female obese rats | - | significantly reduced | #7 |
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a significant cause of chronic liver disease, presents a considerable public health concern. Despite this, there is currently no treatment available. This study aimed to investigate dietary flaxseed in the JCR:LA-corpulent rat strain model of NAFLD. Both obese male and female rats were studied along with their lean counterparts after 12 weeks of ingestion of a control diet, or control diet with flaxseed, or high fat, high sucrose (HFHS), or HFHS plus flaxseed. Obese rats showed higher liver weight and increased levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, and saturated fatty acid, which were further elevated in rats on the HFHS diet. The HFHS diet induced a significant two-fold elevation in the plasma levels of both aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in the obese male and female rats. Including flaxseed in the HFHS diet significantly lowered liver weight, depressed the plasma levels of both enzymes in the obese male rats, and reduced hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride content as well as improving the fatty acid profile. In summary, including flaxseed in the diet of male and female obese rats led to an improved lipid composition in the liver and significantly reduced biomarkers of tissue injury despite consuming a HFHS chow.