Influence of Flaxseed on Lipid Profiles and Expression of LXRa, in Intestine of Diabetic Rat

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of flaxseed on lipid profiles in diabetic rats, focusing on intestinal LXR a. Animals were randomly divided into 3 groups of 8 rats each. group1: rats + chow diet (control), group 2: diabetic rats + chow diet (diabetic control), and group3: diabetic rats + chow diet + 4% flaxseed (w/w) (flaxseed group). After one-month rats were sacrificed, blood was collected; lipid profiles were determined enzymatically as well as mRNA and protein levels of SR-BI were determined by RT-PCR and westernblot respectively. Compared with diabetic control (group 2), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) (all of them P < 0.01) significantly decreased in flaxseed group (group 3). Intestinal LXR a mRNA was significantly increased (P < 0.001) in flaxseed group treatment compared with diabetic animals (group 2). Levels of intestinal regulatory protein of LXR a significantly increased in flaxseed group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, flaxseedsignificantly reduced TC, LDL-C, TG, VLDL-C and atherogenic index, as compared with the diabetic rats (group 2). On the other hand flaxseed led to up-regulation of LXR a in the intestine of rats.