The Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Flaxseed Oil on Genetic and Metabolic Profiles in Patients with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus a Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

Backgrounds: This study was performed to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil on genetic and metabolic profiles in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Material and Method : This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed in 51 women with GDM. Participants were randomly divided into two groups to intake either 2 x 1,000 mg/day omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil containing 400 mg α-Linolenic acid in each capsule (n=26) or placebo (n=25) for 6 weeks. Result: Omega-3 fatty acids intake upregulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (P<0.001) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (P=0.004), and downregulated gene expression of interleukin-1 (P=0.002) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (P=0.001) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of subjects with GDM. In addition, omega-3 fatty acids supplementation reduced fasting plasma glucose (β -5.32 mg/dL; 95% CI, -8.14, -2.50; P<0.001), insulin levels (β -2.37 μIU/mL; 95% CI, -3.68, -1.06; P=0.001) and insulin resistance (β -0.68; 95% CI, -0.98, -0.37; P<0.001), and increased insulin sensitivity (β 0.01; 95% CI, 0.004, 0.01; P=0.003) when compared with the placebo. Additionally, omega-3 fatty acids supplementation was associated with a decrease in triglycerides (P=0.001), VLDL-cholesterol (P=0.001), total cholesterol (P=0.03) and total-/HDL-cholesterol ratio (P=0.03) when compared with placebo. Omega-3 fatty acids administration led also to a significant reduction in high sensitivity C-reactive protein (P=0.005) and malondialdehyde (P<0.001), and an increase in total nitrite (P<0.001) and total glutathione levels (P=0.009) when compared with the placebo.Conclusion: Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation for 6 weeks to women with GDM had beneficial effects on gene expression related to insulin, lipid and inflammation, glycemic control, lipids, inflammatory markers and oxidative stress.