Effects of linseed consumption for a short period of time on lipid profile and atherosclerotic lesions in rabbits fed a hypercholesterolaemic diet

Abstract

Linseed contains biologically active substances, such as lignans, fibres and linoleic acid, which are believed to provide cardioprotective effects. The objective of the present study was to assess the potential hypolipaemic, anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory effects of linseed consumption using an experimental animal model, with rabbits fed a hypercholesterolaemic diet (1 % cholesterol extracted from lyophilised egg). A total of twenty white male rabbits were selected and divided into two groups: group I (GI), control group, ten rabbits; group II (GII), ten rabbits. The animals were fed a hypercholesterolaemic diet for 56 d. For the GII diet, ground linseed was added from day 29 through to day 56. Animals underwent aortic arch and descending aorta dissection on day 56 for histological, morphometric and immunohistochemical analysis. At the end of the experiment, GII animals presented with lower levels of total cholesterol (TC, 10 068·3 v. 16 767·0 mg/l; P, 0·05) and lower levels of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C; 10 743·2 v. 15 961·2 mg/l; P, 0·05) when compared with the GI control group. There was no significant difference in serum HDL-cholesterol and TAG between the two groups. Almost all animals exhibited type III atherosclerotic lesions in the descending aorta. There was no statistically significant difference between the intima area and the intima:media layer area ratio in both groups. There was no difference between the positive areas for vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 molecules between the groups. Linseed consumption showed hypolipaemic action by reducing LDL-C and TC levels; however, this cholesterol-lowering effect did not reduce the atherosclerotic lesions induced by a hypercholesterolaemic diet (1 % cholesterol) for a short period of time.

Effect of Phytoestrogens on Lipid Profile: Mini Review

“…The study drew conclusions that although there was an elevated level of serum total cholesterol in both groups, this increase was highly significant with the control group. Also noted was that LDL-c was lower in the group that was supplemented with linseed whereas the HDL-c and serum TG showed insignificant differences between the two groups [47].…”

Flaxseed for Hypertension: Implications for Blood Pressure Regulation

“…However, further work in tightly controlled trials over at least 6 months is necessary using appropriate concentrations of the bioactive isolates in hypertensive patients before firm conclusions can be reached. It is also relevant to note from animal work that dietary flaxseed can induce anti-arrhythmic [49], antiatherosclerotic [50,51], anti-inflammatory [51], and antidiabetic effects [52] and plaque regression [53] and has cholesterol [54,55] and trans fat lowering capacity [50]. Ultimately, any one of these actions may also contribute to the BP lowering effects of dietary flaxseed.…”

Resveratrol provoca efeitos antiaterogênicos em um modelo animal de aterosclerose

“…We read with great interest the article by Matos et al 1 and would like to comment on its protocol and results.…”

“…We shared those same doubts. That study is part of our research line in an animal model (rabbits) submitted to a hypercholesterolemic diet and then treated with functional food (linseed and resveratrol) 1 .…”

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Keywords:Atherosclerosis; models; animal; antioxidants; dyslipidemias.

Dear Editor,We read with great interest the article by Matos et al 1 and would like to comment on its protocol and results.Studies with dietary formulations require the description of all components included in the diet, because they vary considerably in commercial formulations (especially antioxidants) and might jeopardize the results and reproducibility of the study 2 .The absence of a group of animals treated with a standard diet with no lipid supplementation hinders the assessment of the predisposition of the animal model to develop atherosclerosis. That is a fundamental aspect considering the differential susceptibility to atherosclerosis of the strain of rabbits used 3 .

The control animals had significantly increased baseline levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides as compared with those of the resveratrol-treated group (58% and 72%, respectively).

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