Flaxseeds Protect Against Radiation Exposure
radiation? Eat your flaxseeds. A study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that flaxseed may help protect
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radiation? Eat your flaxseeds. A study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that flaxseed may help protect
mmking
5 minTracking Radiation Poisoning from the Inside Out 2015 Update for GreenMedInfo © Beth Ellen DiLuglio, MS
Sayer Ji
76 minThis article focuses on internal exposure to ionizing radiation, its detrimental effects on health, and
nutritionmission
76 min
Flaxseeds contain unique heart friendly properties, which the scientific research is only now beginning to
Sayer Ji
7 min
Known since ancient times as a 'remedy for everything but death,' an increasingly vast body
Sayer Ji
7 minFlaxseed (linseed, Linum usitatissimum, Linaceae) is widely used for its edible oil in many parts of the world. The present study investigates the radioprotective and antioxidative potential of flaxseed oil (FO). Swiss albino mice were administered FO orally once daily for 15 consecutive days, then exposed to a single dose of 5 Gy of gamma radiation. Lipid peroxide, reduced glutathione and total protein were estimated in the liver. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), acid and alkaline phosphatase estimations in serum were also carried out. Radiation-induced increases in the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO), AST, ALT and acid phosphatase were significantly ameliorated by flaxseed oil pretreatment, and radiation-induced depletion in the level of glutathione (GSH) and alkaline phosphatase activities was significantly inhibited by flaxseed oil administration. The lifespan was increased in the flaxseed oil treated irradiated mice in comparison with their respective control mice, with survival data showing an LD(50/30) (lethal dose for 50% of animals after 30 days) of 7.1 and 10 Gy for control and FO treated irradiated mice, respectively, and produced a dose reduction factor for flaxseed oil (DRF) of 1.40. Radiation-induced deficits in body and organ weight were significantly reduced or prevented in flaxseed oil pretreated mice. The protection afforded by flaxseed oil may be attributed to the constituents of the oil, which include omega-3 essential fatty acids and phytoestrogenic lignans, which appear to play an important role in free radical scavenging and singlet oxygen quenching. The study does not rule out the possibility of a prophylactic potential of flaxseed oil against radiation-induced degenerative changes in liver.
Flaxseed (FS) has high contents of omega-3 fatty acids and lignans with antioxidant properties. Its use in preventing thoracic X-ray radiation therapy (XRT)-induced pneumonopathy has never been evaluated. We evaluated FS supplementation given to mice given before and post-XRT. FS-derived lignans, known for their direct antioxidant properties, were evaluated in abrogating ROS generation in cultured endothelial cells following gamma radiation exposure. Mice were fed 10% FS or isocaloric control diet for three weeks and given 13.5 Gy thoracic XRT. Lungs were evaluated at 24 hours for markers of radiation-induced injury, three weeks for acute lung damage (lipid peroxidation, lung edema and inflammation), and at four months for late lung damage (inflammation and fibrosis). FS-Lignans blunted ROS generation in vitro, resulting from radiation in a dose-dependent manner. FS-fed mice had reduced expression of lung injury biomarkers (Bax, p21 and TGF-beta1) at 24 hours following XRT and reduced oxidative lung damage as measured by malondialdehyde (MDA) levels at 3 weeks following XRT. In addition, FS-fed mice had decreased lung fibrosis as determined by hydroxyproline content and decreased inflammatory cell influx into lungs at 4 months post XRT. Importantly, when Lewis lung carcinoma cells were injected systemically in mice, FS dietary supplementation did not appear to protect lung tumors from responding to thoracic XRT. Dietary FS is protective against pulmonary fibrosis, inflammation and oxidative lung damage in a murine model. Moreover, in this model, tumor radioprotection was not observed. FS lignans exhibited potent radiation-induced ROS scavenging action. Taken together, these data suggest that dietary flaxseed may be clinically useful as an agent to increase the therapeutic index of thoracic XRT by increasing the radiation tolerance of lung tissues.
While dietary wholegrain Flaxseed (FS) has potent anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and antioxidant properties in murine models of acute and chronic lung injury, the main bioactive ingredient that contributes to these protective effects remains unknown. This study evaluated the lignan complex of FS (FLC) enriched in secoisolariciresinol diglucoside with respect to lung radioprotective and tumor radiosensitizing efficacy using a mouse model of thoracic radiation-induced pneumonopathy. C57/Bl6 mice were fed 0% FS, 10% FS, 10% FLC or 20% FLC for 3 weeks, then irradiated with a single fraction (13.5 Gy) of X-ray radiation treatment (XRT). Mouse survival was monitored for 4 months after irradiation and inflammatory lung parameters were evaluated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Gene and protein levels of protective antioxidant and phase II enzymes were evaluated in lung tissue using qPCR and protein levels were verified by immunoblotting. Prolonged administration of the FLC diet was well tolerated and was not associated with any toxicity. Importantly, comparable to the whole grain 10% FS diet, irradiated mice fed 10% and 20% FLC diets displayed improved survival. Improved hemodynamic measurements were also recorded in irradiated mice fed 10% FS or 10% FLC diet compared to irradiated 0% FS fed mice. Flaxseed lignan complex diet also attenuated polymorphonuclear infiltration and overall lung inflammation to levels comparable to those in nonirradiated mice. Flaxseed lignan complex, similarly to FS, up-regulated gene expression as well as protein levels of protective antioxidant enzymes such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). Dietary FLC induced radiosensitizing effects in our murine model of metastatic lung cancer. Importantly, protection of normal tissue does not thwart tumor cell death by radiation treatment. The dietary lignan complex of FS, mainly consisting of the phenolic secoisolariciresinol, is protective against radiation pneumonopathy in vivo while not hindering the tumoricidal effects of radiotherapy.
BACKGROUND: Spaceflight missions may require crewmembers to conduct extravehicular activities (EVA). Pre-breathe protocols in preparation for an EVA entail 100% hyperoxia exposure that may last for a few hours and be repeated 2-3 times weekly. Each EVA is associated with additional challenges such as low levels of total body cosmic/galactic radiation exposure that may present a threat to crewmember health. We have developed a mouse model of total body radiation and hyperoxia exposure and identified acute damage of lung tissues. In the current study we evaluated the usefulness of dietary flaxseed (FS) as a countermeasure agent for such double-hit exposures. METHODS: We evaluated lung tissue changes 2 weeks post-initiation of exposure challenges. Mouse cohorts (n=5/group) were pre-fed diets containing either 0% FS or 10% FS for 3 weeks and exposed to: a) normoxia (Untreated); b)>95% O2 (O2); c) 0.25Gy single fraction gamma radiation (IR); or d) a combination of O2 and IR (O2+IR) 3 times per week for 2 consecutive weeks, where 8-hour hyperoxia treatments were spanned by normoxic intervals. RESULTS: At 2 weeks post challenge, while control-diet fed mice developed significant lung injury and inflammation across all challenges, FS protected lung tissues by decreasing bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) neutrophils (p
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