Effects of dietary flaxseeds on lipid metabolism of Sprague-Dawley rats

Flaxseeds contain alpha-linolenic acid and lignan. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed sesame seeds, raw flaxseeds or roasted flaxseeds for 20 days to study their dietary effects on immune function and lipid metabolism of rats. Serum IgG level and spleen lymphocytes IgG productivity were lower in the rats fed roasted flaxseeds than those in the rats fed the control diet. Serum and liver phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide levels were higher in the rats fed roasted flaxseeds than those in the rats fed the control diet. Serum lipid parameters were not changed by the feeding of flaxseeds. On the fatty acid composition of the liver, higher level of a-linoleic acid and lower level of arachidonic acid were detected in the rats fed flaxseeds compare with those in rats fed control diet. Furthermore, higher level of docosahexaenoic acid were detected in the liver of the rats fed flaxseeds, suggesting that flaxseeds can be treated as the resources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. These results suggested that dietary flaxseeds modulate the metabolism of fatty acids.