For years, flax seeds were recommended in the human diet,
because of their high content of components beneficial for human
health. Besides polyunsaturated fatty acids, they contain relatively
high quantities of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), phenolic
acids and flavonoids.
Flax oil contains high quantities ofthe essential polyunsaturated
fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA). It has
been widely proven that a high level of ALA in the diet can reduce
the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases and limit the production
of arachidonic acids and other pro-inflammatory eicosanoids.
The linseed fatty acids have been reported to affect cytokine gene
expression. For example, calves supplemented with flax oil (but
not fish oil) tended to show a decrease in the expression of IL-4
and IL-8 genes (Karcher et al., 2014). The simultaneous consumption
of omega-3 and omega-6 acids in a proper ratio is essential
in cancer prevention and inflammation reduction. It is fairly well
established that lowering of the risk of diseases by omega-3 fatty
acids is relatedto cholesterol oxidation.Currently,the typicalWestern
diet contains an excessive amount of omega-6 acids; thus, its
supplementation with a high level of omega-3 fatty acids from flax
oil could be beneficial for consumer health. The most recent reports strongly support this point of view. For example, two groups of
patients (155 subjects) with idiopathic mild to moderate carpal
tunnel syndrome (the most common entrapment neuropathy in
human) were treated for 4 weeks with placebo or linseed oil. It
was found that linseed oil was effective in the management of
mild and moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, especially in improving
the severity of symptoms and functional status (Hashempur
et al., 2014).