Dietary Flaxseed as a Strategy for Improving Human Health

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Abstract

Flaxseed is a rich source of the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid, the lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside and fiber. These compounds provide bioactivity of value to the health of animals and humans through their anti-inflammatory action, anti-oxidative capacity and lipid modulating properties. The characteristics of ingesting flaxseed or its bioactive components are discussed in this article. The benefits of administering flaxseed or the individual bioactive components on health and disease are also discussed in this review. Specifically, the current evidence on the benefits or limitations of dietary flaxseed in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, gastro-intestinal health and brain development and function, as well as hormonal status in menopausal women, are comprehensive topics for discussion.

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DHA Effects in Brain Development and Function

Lotte Lauritzen, Paolo Brambilla, Alessandra Mazzocchi … (2016)

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a structural constituent of membranes specifically in the central nervous system. Its accumulation in the fetal brain takes place mainly during the last trimester of pregnancy and continues at very high rates up to the end of the second year of life. Since the endogenous formation of DHA seems to be relatively low, DHA intake may contribute to optimal conditions for brain development. We performed a narrative review on research on the associations between DHA levels and brain development and function throughout the lifespan. Data from cell and animal studies justify the indication of DHA in relation to brain function for neuronal cell growth and differentiation as well as in relation to neuronal signaling. Most data from human studies concern the contribution of DHA to optimal visual acuity development. Accumulating data indicate that DHA may have effects on the brain in infancy, and recent studies indicate that the effect of DHA may depend on gender and genotype of genes involved in the endogenous synthesis of DHA. While DHA levels may affect early development, potential effects are also increasingly recognized during childhood and adult life, suggesting a role of DHA in cognitive decline and in relation to major psychiatric disorders.

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Flaxseed Lignans: Source, Biosynthesis, Metabolism, Antioxidant Activity, Bio-Active Components, and Health Benefits

Alhassane Touré, Xu Xueming (2010)

Lignans are compounds found in a variety of plant materials including flaxseed, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, soybean, broccoli, and some berries. The major lignan in flaxseed is called secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). Once ingested, SDG is converted in the colon into active mammalian lignans, enterodiol, and entero-lactone, which have shown promise in reducing growth of cancerous tumors, especially hormone-sensitive ones such as those of the breast, endometrium, and prostate. Known for their hydrogen-donating antioxidant activity as well as their ability to complex divalent transition metal cations, lignans are propitious to human health. The extraction methods vary from simple to complex depending on extraction, separation, fractionation, identification, and detection of the analytes. Flax lignan is also a source of useful biologically active components found in plant foods, such as phytochemicals, and it is considered a functional food. The safety issues in flaxseed are also briefly discussed.

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Flaxseed-a potential functional food source.

Alka Sharma, Priyanka Kajla, Dev Raj Sood (2015)

There is currently much interest in phytochemicals as bioactive molecules of food. Functional foods are an emerging field in food science due to their increasing popularity among health conscious consumers. Flaxseed is cultivated in many parts of world for fiber, oil as well as for medicinal purposes and also as nutritional product. In this review, nutrients, anti-nutrients, functional properties, processing, metabolism and health benefits of bioactive molecules viz., essential fatty acids, lignans and dietary fiber of flaxseed are discussed.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Nutrients

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Nutrients

Journal ID (publisher-id): nutrients

Title: Nutrients

Publisher: MDPI

ISSN (Electronic): 2072-6643

Publication date (Electronic): 25 May 2019

Publication date Collection: May 2019

Volume: 11

Issue: 5

Electronic Location Identifier: 1171

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W3, Canada; mparikh@ 123456sbrc.ca (M.P.); tmaddaford@ 123456sbrc.ca (T.G.M.); aaustria@ 123456sbrc.ca (J.A.A.); tnetticadan@ 123456sbrc.ca (T.N.)

[2 ]Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine (CCARM), Albrechtsen Research Centre, St Boniface Hospital, 351 Taché Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2H 2A6, Canada; maliani@ 123456sbrc.ca

[3 ]Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Albrechtsen Research Centre, St. Boniface Hospital, 351 Taché Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2H 2A6, Canada

[4 ]Department of Human Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada

[5 ]Morden Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Morden, MB R6M 1Y5, Canada

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[* ]Correspondence: gpierce@ 123456sbrc.ca ; Tel.: +1-204-235-3206; Fax: +1-204-235-0793

Article

Publisher ID: nutrients-11-01171

DOI: 10.3390/nu11051171

PMC ID: 6567199

PubMed ID: 31130604

SO-VID: 099cc6af-7bfc-40db-a1f3-e0727b164e36

License:

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Dietary Flaxseed as a Strategy for Improving Human Health

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Karger: Nutrition and Dietetics

Most cited references 88

DHA Effects in Brain Development and Function

Flaxseed Lignans: Source, Biosynthesis, Metabolism, Antioxidant Activity, Bio-Active Components, and Health Benefits

Flaxseed-a potential functional food source.

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