Abstract

Author(s): Fruehwirth, Marcelo1; Folha, Rafaela de Araujo1; Pereira, Francine Martins2; Delai, Robson Michael2

Introduction: Cholesterol is essential for life, when in excess in blood, is deposited on the artery walls promoting its narrowing or obstruction.

Objectives: The objective was to verify the possible hypocholesterolemic effect of linseed.

Methods: We used 30 female Wistar rats divided into three groups: control, hypercholesterolemic, and linseed. The evaluated parameters were: water intake, feed intake, body weight, peritoneal fat, and cholesterol levels;

Results and Discussion: The results were: the control group had a higher fluid intake (57.46 ± 0.13ml) and feed (30.68 ± 1.96g) when compared to hypercholesterolemic and linseed; for total body weight, only the control group did not change; in relation to the accumulation of peritoneal fat, the hypercholesterolemic group stood out (17.06 ± 3.99g) compared to linseed and control; for serum cholesterol levels, the control group obtained (1.14 ± 0.14g), thus being observed in linseed group (1.66 ± 0.16g), closer to the result of the control group than the hypercholesterolemic (2.20 ± 6.32g), a result that leads us to recognize that linseed has had a beneficial effect on cholesterol.

Conclusion: The results obtained demonstrate benefits in the use of the seed to reduce levels of peritoneal fat, total weight and cholesterol.