JACN Did you know that you can get alerts when a new issue is online?
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bhathena, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Velasquez, M. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bhathena, S. J.
Right arrow Articles by Velasquez, M. T.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 22, No. 2, 157-164 (2003)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Original Research Paper

Dietary Flaxseed Meal is More Protective Than Soy Protein Concentrate Against Hypertriglyceridemia and Steatosis of the Liver in an Animal Model of Obesity

Sam J. Bhathena, PhD, Ali A. Ali, PhD, Christian Haudenschild, MD, Patricia Latham, MD, Tedine Ranich, MD, Ali I. Mohamed, PhD, Carl T. Hansen, PhD and Manuel T. Velasquez, MD

Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville (S.J.B.)
National Institutes of Health, Animal Genetic Resource, Bethesda (C.T.H.)
The Jerome Holland Laboratory, Department of Experimental Pathology, American Red Cross, Rockville (C.H.), Maryland
Department of Medicine, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington DC (P.L., T.R., M.T.V.)
Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia (A.I.M.)
Department of Food Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EGYPT (A.A.A.)

Address reprint requests to: Sam J. Bhathena, PhD, Phytonutrients Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Bldg. 307, Room 315, Beltsville, MD 20705. E-mail: bhathens{at}ba.ars.usda.gov

ABSTRACT

Objective: Soy protein and flaxseed meal have been reported to have beneficial effects on many chronic diseases in humans and animals. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of soy protein and flaxseed meal on hypertriglyceridemia and liver steatosis associated with obesity and diabetes. We compared the effects of dietary soy protein and flaxseed meal with that of casein on plasma and liver lipids in a genetic model of obesity, type II diabetes and insulin resistance, namely the SHR/N-cp rat.

Methods: Lean and obese phenotypes of SHR/-cp rats were fed AIN 93 diets containing 20% of energy from casein (control), soy protein concentrate or flaxseed meal for six months. Plasma was analyzed for total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride and total protein. Liver was analyzed for steatosis by light microscopy after staining samples with Hematoxylin-Eosin and Oil-Red-O.

Results: In lean rats soy protein and flaxseed meal significantly decreased plasma total cholesterol (26.0% and 20.3% respectively) compared to casein. In obese rats flaxseed meal had significant cholesterol lowering effect compared to control rats (41%). Soy protein significantly lowered both plasma LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol in lean phenotypes while in obese phenotypes flaxseed meal significantly lowered LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol compared to casein-fed rats. Flaxseed meal also significantly lowered plasma triglyceride in both lean and obese rats compared to casein fed rats (33.7% and 37% respectively). There was significantly greater fat accumulation in livers of obese rats than lean rats (200%) regardless of dietary protein type. Flaxseed meal significantly lowered fat deposition in livers of both lean and obese rats compared to rats fed casein or soy protein. Dietary component(s) present in flaxseed meal or soy protein responsible for hypolipidemic effects is not clear.

Conclusions: The marked hypotriglyceridemic and hypocholesterolemic effects of flaxseed meal may have important therapeutic implications in patients with hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia and deserve further study in humans with these disorders. Flaxseed meal supplementation may provide a new therapeutic strategy to reduce hypertriglyceridemia and fatty liver.

Key words: cholesterol, flaxseed, fatty liver, hypertriglyceridemia, plasma lipids, soy protein




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Am. Coll. Nutr.Home page
L. T. Bloedon, S. Balikai, J. Chittams, S. C. Cunnane, J. A. Berlin, D. J. Rader, and P. O. Szapary
Flaxseed and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Results from a Double Blind, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial
J. Am. Coll. Nutr., February 1, 2008; 27(1): 65 - 74.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
L. Gutierrez, G. Conejero, M. Castelain, S. Guenin, J.-L. Verdeil, B. Thomasset, and O. Van Wuytswinkel
Identification of new gene expression regulators specifically expressed during plant seed maturation
J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2006; 57(9): 1919 - 1932.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Am. Coll. Nutr.Home page
W.M.N. Ratnayake, G.S. Gilani, S. J. Bhathena, A. A. Ali, C. Haudenschild, P. Latham, T. Ranich, A. I. Mohamed, C. T. Hansen, and M. T. Velasquez
Letters to the Editor
J. Am. Coll. Nutr., August 1, 2003; 22(4): 326 - 329.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by the American College of Nutrition.