Decrease in the Inflammatory Marker TNF-a after Consumption of Flaxseed by Hypercholesterolemic Rabbits

Background: Functional foods such as flaxseed have been commonly consumed to prevent atherosclerosis.Objectives: To assess the effects of flaxseed in atherogenesis in rabbits consuming a high-cholesterol diet.Methods: Thirty male albino rabbits were randomized to three groups based on a 12-week dietary treatment: control group (G1), standard diet; high-cholesterol diet (G2), standard diet plus 0.25% cholesterol from lyophilized eggs; and high-cholesterol plus flaxseed (G3), similar diet as G2 plus flaxseed.Biochemical (total cholesterol [TC], high-density lipoprotein [HDL-C], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], and triglycerides) and immunohistochemical (intercellular adhesion molecule 1 [ICAM-1] and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) analyses were performed in all groups.P values < 0.05 indicated statistical significance.Results: At 12 weeks, serum TC levels increased significantly in G2 and G3 compared with G1.Serum LDL-C levels were higher in group G2, and the increase in group G3 was approximately six times lower than that in G2.HDL-C levels increased in all groups, with the highest increase observed in G2.Triglycerides levels in G3 decreased by ~70% and differed significantly in G1 and G3 (p = 0.034) and G2 and G3 (p = 0.015).ICAM-1 levels increased only in aortic segment 4 in G3.TNF-α levels in G3 were similar to those in the control group, while the levels in G2 were greater than twice as those in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions:The group fed with a functional diet (flaxseed) showed decreased development of atherosclerosis, reduced serum triglycerides levels, and lower TNF-α levels on immunohistochemistry. (Int