Background: Postmenopausal weight gain sounds an alarm for women's health and may lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Flaxseed is rich in antioxidants and may improve liver functions. However, the precise mechanisms remain unclear.
Objective: This work was designed to evaluate the possible hepatoprotective role of flaxseed in ovariectomized obese female albino rat model.
Materials and Methods: Adult female albino rats were divided into three groups: Group I (control), Group II (High fat diet group) and Group III (bilaterally ovariectomized group) which then subdivided equally into; GIIIa (ovariectomized only group), GIIIb (ovariectomized rats fed on a high fat diet) and GIIIc (ovariectomized rats fed on high-fat diet contained ground flaxseed) till the end of the experiment. After 12 weeks, body weight, serum lipid profiles and liver enzyme levels were estimated. liver specimens were processed for light and electron microscopic studies. Morphometric measurements and statistical analyses were done.
Results: Ovariectomy and high-fat diet caused a significant increase in body weight, lipid profiles and destructive changes within the liver tissue in the form of vacuolated cytoplasm, pyknotic nuclei, congested blood vessels and mononuclear inflammatory cells infiltration that was supported by a significant elevation in the liver enzymes coupled to a significant increase in the area percentage of collagen fibers and reduction in the Periodic-Acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction. The ultrastructural assessment confirmed these distortions. In contrast, flaxseed significantly corrected hyperlipidemia and hepatic biochemical parameters with critical improvement in the liver histopathological changes depicted previously.
Conclusion: Flaxseed may have a hepatoprotective role against steatohepatitis and fibrosis in ovariectomized obese rat model.