Flaxseed supplementation in non-alcoholic fatty Liver disease: a pilot randomized, open labeled, controlled study

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a spectrum of pathologic disorders that range from simple steatosis, which leads to steatohepatitis, and replacement of hepatic tissue with fibrotic tissue called fibrosis and finally cirrhosis. Since the pathogenesis of NAFLD is related to metabolic syndrome and its components, we assumed that supplementation with flaxseed may act as a novel adjunctive therapeutic strategy for patients with NAFLD. To evaluate this hypothesis, a randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to assess efficacy of flaxseed supplementation as an adjunct intervention to healthy lifestyle modification on the management of NAFLD. A two-arm randomized open labeled controlled clinical trial was conducted on 50 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Participants were assigned to take either a lifestyle modification (LM), or LM þ30 g/day brown milled flaxseed for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, body weight, liver enzymes, insulin resistance and hepatic fibrosis and steatosis decreased significantly in both groups (p< 0.05); however, this reduction was significantly greater in those who took flaxseed supplementation (p < 0.05). The significant mean differences were reached in hepatic markers between flaxseed and control group, respectively: ALT [11.12 compared with 3.7 U/L; P< 0.001], AST [8.29 compared with 4 U/L; p < 0.001], GGT [15.7 compared with 2.62 U/L; p < 0.001], fibrosis score [1.26 compared with 0.77 kPa; p ¼ 0.013] and steatosis score [47 compared with 15.45 dB/m; p ¼ 0.022]. In conclusion, flaxseed supplementation plus lifestyle modification is more effective than lifestyle modification alone for NAFLD management.

Keywords:

Clinical trial , Flaxseed , Hepatic Fibrosis , Liver enzymes , Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease