Beneficial Effects of Dietary Flaxseed on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

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.