TY - JOUR

T1 - Dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil lowers blood pressure in dyslipidaemic patients

AU - Paschos, G K

AU - Magkos, Faidon

AU - Panagiotakos, D B

AU - Votteas, V

AU - Zampelas, Antonis

N1 - (Ekstern)

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - Objective: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the natural precursor of the cardioprotective long-chain n-3 fatty acids. Available data indicate a possible beneficial effect of ALA on cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the response of various CVD risk factors to increased ALA intake is not well characterized. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of increased ALA intake on blood pressure in man. Design, setting, subjects and interventions: We used a prospective, two-group, parallel-arm design to examine the effect of a 12-week dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil, rich in ALA (8 g/day), on blood pressure in middle-aged dyslipidaemic men (n=59). The diet of the control group was supplemented with safflower oil, containing the equivalent n-6 fatty acid (11 g/day linoleic acid (LA); n=28). Arterial blood pressure was measured at the beginning and at the end of the dietary intervention period.Results: Supplementation with ALA resulted in significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels compared with LA (P=0.016 and P=0.011, respectively, from analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures).Conclusions: We observed a hypotensive effect of ALA, which may constitute another mechanism accounting in part for the apparent cardioprotective effect of this n-3 fatty acid.

AB - Objective: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the natural precursor of the cardioprotective long-chain n-3 fatty acids. Available data indicate a possible beneficial effect of ALA on cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the response of various CVD risk factors to increased ALA intake is not well characterized. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of increased ALA intake on blood pressure in man. Design, setting, subjects and interventions: We used a prospective, two-group, parallel-arm design to examine the effect of a 12-week dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil, rich in ALA (8 g/day), on blood pressure in middle-aged dyslipidaemic men (n=59). The diet of the control group was supplemented with safflower oil, containing the equivalent n-6 fatty acid (11 g/day linoleic acid (LA); n=28). Arterial blood pressure was measured at the beginning and at the end of the dietary intervention period.Results: Supplementation with ALA resulted in significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels compared with LA (P=0.016 and P=0.011, respectively, from analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures).Conclusions: We observed a hypotensive effect of ALA, which may constitute another mechanism accounting in part for the apparent cardioprotective effect of this n-3 fatty acid.

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Analysis of Variance

KW - Blood Pressure/drug effects

KW - Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control

KW - Dietary Supplements

KW - Dyslipidemias/complications

KW - Fatty Acids, Omega-3/administration & dosage

KW - Fatty Acids, Omega-6/administration & dosage

KW - Humans

KW - Linoleic Acids/administration & dosage

KW - Linseed Oil/administration & dosage

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Prospective Studies

KW - Risk Factors

KW - alpha-Linolenic Acid/administration & dosage

U2 - 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602631

DO - 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602631

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 17268413

VL - 61

SP - 1201

EP - 1206

JO - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

JF - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

SN - 0954-3007

IS - 10

ER -