The Effects of Flaxseed Consumption on Frailty and Sarcopenia in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: An Open-Labeled Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Frailty and sarcopenia are common among patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), which can lead to a higher risk of several morbidities and mortality. The primary goal of this study was to explore the impact of flaxseed consumption on body composition, frailty and sarcopenia, as well as disease severity and inflammation in these patients. In this 12-week, open-labeled randomized clinical trial, we recruited fifty patients with LC who were randomly allocated to receive either flaxseed (30 g/d flaxseed powder) or no intervention. Body composition and anthropometric parameters, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), the model for end-stage liver disease-Na (MELD-Na), frailty, sarcopenia, and muscle strength were assessed at the initiation and upon completion of the trial. After the study was completed, percent of body fat (PBF) and waist circumference (WC) decreased significantly in the flaxseed group when compared to the group’s pre-intervention values (p = 0.001 and p = 0.03, respectively). No significant changes were found regarding other body composition parameters (p > 0.05). MELD-Na (p = 0.01) and hs-CRP (p = 0.006) significantly declined only in the flaxseed group in comparison to the baseline. Also, a significant amelioration was found in liver frailty index (LFI) (p = 0.001), SARC-F (p = 0.002), and hand grip (HG) (p = 0.008) as sarcopenia predictors after 12 weeks of intervention in the flaxseed group. These findings revealed that flaxseed consumption may positively affect muscle strength, reducing frailty and sarcopenia in individuals with cirrhosis by mitigating inflammation and lessening the severity of the disease. Trial Registration: irct.ir registration number: IRCT20230514058189N1.