The Effect of Linseed Consumption on Blood Pressure and Laboratory Parameters in Healthy Adults who Exercise Regularly

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the impact of linseed consumption on blood pressure and laboratory tests in healthy individuals who do and do not exercise regularly.
Material and Method: This study included 15 male subjects and 15 female subjects between 25 and 45 years of age without any clinical complaints and manifestations, who have been exercising regularly for at least a year. Age-matched individuals who had not been exercising regularly were included as the control group. Subjects orally received 20 grams of freshly ground linseed daily on an empty stomach in the morning, 30 minutes before the breakfast for 12 weeks. Blood samples were drawn into biochemistry and hemogram tubes at the start and end of the trial. The following parameters were investigated on these samples: glucose, urea, creatine, cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotranferase (ALT), Gammaglutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), uric acid, calcium (Ca), iron (Fe) and haemogram. The cases were also monitored for blood pressure and body weight.
Results: Changes in ALP, CK, Ca, Fe, red blood cell (RBC) and weight were significant of males who did not exercise (p<0.05, p<0.01). The males who exercised regularly exhibited significant changes in urea, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, AST, ALT, LDH, Fe, haemoglobin (HGB), haematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), platelet distrubition width (PDV) and weight (p<0.05, p<0.01). Females who did not exercise had significant changes in glucose, HDL, ALP, CK, CK-MB and uric acid, RBC and HCT (p<0.01). Females who exercised regularly exhibited significant changes in glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, AST, ALP, CK, LDH, Ca, Fe, RBC, HGB, lymphocyte (LYM) and diastolic blood pressure (p<0.05, p<0.01).
Conclusion: Regular exercise and linseed consumption have a favorable impact on the lipid metabolism and regulate blood pressure. The absence of elevations in the hepatic and renal enzymes suggests that linseed is not toxic for the organism. The fact that some of the biochemical and hematologic parameters are in line with data reported in the literature while some exhibit differences relative to the data underlines the necessity of supporting these results on exercise combined with linseed consumption with future trials.

Author(s): Kaptanoglu S, Tanritanır P, Oto G, Yesilova A, Esen R, Ragbetli C, Dulger AC

Abstract | PDF

Share This Article