Original Article
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 1123–1129; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.41; published online 8 July 2009
Bioavailability of 
-linolenic acid from flaxseed diets as a function of the age of the subject
A Patenaude1,2,5, D Rodriguez-Leyva3,5, A L Edel1,2, E Dibrov1,2, C M C Dupasquier1,2, J A Austria1,2, M N Richard1,2, M N Chahine1,2, L J Malcolmson4 and G N Pierce1,2
- 1Cell Biology Laboratory, Canadian Centre for Agri-food Research in Health and Medicine (CCARM), St Boniface Hospital Research Centre
- 2Department of Physiology, Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- 3Cardiovascular Research Division, V.I. Lenin University Hospital, Holguin, Cuba
- 4Canadian International Grain Institute, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Correspondence: Dr GN Pierce, St Boniface Hospital Research Centre, 351 Tache Ave., Winnipeg, MB, Canada R2H 2A6. E-mail: gpierce@sbrc.ca
5These authors contributed equally to this work.
Received 11 August 2008; Revised 10 March 2009; Accepted 15 April 2009; Published online 8 July 2009.
Abstract
Background:
Dietary flaxseed may have beneficial cardiovascular effects. An aged population has a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, but they may react differently to flaxseed in the diet.
Objective:
To investigate the response, over a period of 4 weeks, of subjects aged 18–29 or 45–69 years to a diet containing the same amount of 
-linolenic acid (ALA) (6 g) introduced in the form of ground flaxseed (30 g) or flaxseed oil.
Results:
All subjects who received flaxseed oil showed a significant increase in plasma ALA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations over the course of this study. Subjects who received ground flaxseed in the 18–29-year-old group showed a statistically significant increase in their plasma ALA levels, and although there was a trend in the same direction for the 45–69-year-old subjects, this did not achieve statistical significance. The diets induced no major changes in platelet aggregation, plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in any of the groups. Younger subjects showed a decrease in triglyceride (TG) values compared with older subjects. There were no significant side effects that caused compliancy issues.
Conclusion:
Subject age does not seem to be a major determining factor in influencing ALA absorption from a flaxseed-supplemented diet nor in the metabolism of ALA to EPA in the groups fed flaxseed oil. Concerns about side effects in older subjects administered a higher fiber load in a flaxseed-supplemented diet are not justified. However, younger but not older subjects showed a beneficial decrease in circulating TGs due to flaxseed supplementation.
Keywords:
omega-3 fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), platelet aggregation, linseed, cardiovascular disease, aging
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