The Effects of flaxseed supplementation on circulating adipokines concentration in patients with ulcerative colitis

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases affecting people of all ages. Adipokines secreted from adipose tissue have been shown to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementation with ground flaxseed (GF) on the concentrations of adiponectin, resistin, and visfatin in patients with UC. Methods: : This trial is an open-labeled randomized controlled trial conducted among 70 patients with UC. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: flaxseed and control. Patients in the intervention were received 30 g/day flaxseed powder for 12 weeks. Patients' anthropometric, nutritional, and biochemical factors were evaluated at the beginning and end of the intervention period. Finding: Totally, 64 patients (36 men and 28 women) with a mean age of 31.12 ± 9.67 were included in the final analysis. There wasn’t any significant difference between the two groups regarding baseline weight and height (p>0.05). After the 12 weeks' intervention, flaxseed supplementation led to a significant reduction in the resistin (-4.85 ± 1.89 vs. -1.10 ± 2.25, p<0.001) and visfatin concentration (-1.33± 1.14 vs. -0.53 ± 1.63, p=0.018). Moreover, we found a significant increase in the adiponectin levels after the GF supplementation (3.49 ± 1.29 vs. -0.35 ± 0.96, p<0.001). Conclusion: It has been reported in this study that flaxseed supplementation could exert beneficial effects on adipokine levels in patients with UC. Trial registration : IRCT registration no. IRCT20180311039043N1