Arterial Compliance in Obese Subjects Is Improved With Dietary Plant n-3 Fatty Acid From Flaxseed Oil Despite Increased LDL Oxidizability

Abstract

The compliance or elasticity of the arterial system, an important index of circulatory function, diminishes with increasing cardiovascular risk. Conversely, systemic arterial compliance improves through eating of fish and fish oil. We therefore tested the value of high intake of alpha-linolenic acid, the plant precursor of fish fatty acids. Fifteen obese people with markers for insulin resistance ate in turn four diets of 4 weeks each; saturated/high fat (SHF), alpha-linolenic acid/low fat (ALF), oleic/low fat (OLF), and SHF. Daily intake of alpha-linolenic acid was 20 g from margarine products based on flax oil. Systemic arterial compliance was calculated from aortic flow velocity and aortic root driving pressure. Plasma lipids, glucose tolerance, and in vitro LDL oxidizability were also measured. Systemic arterial compliance during the first and last SHF periods was 0.42 +/- 0.12 (mean +/- SD) and 0.56 +/- 0.21 units based on milliliters per millimeter of mercury. It rose significantly to 0.78 +/- 0.28 (P < .0001) with ALF; systemic arterial compliance with OLF was 0.62 +/- 0.19, lower than with ALF (P < .05). Mean arterial pressures and results of oral glucose tolerance tests were similar during ALF, OLF, and second SHF; total cholesterol levels were also not significantly different. However, insulin sensitivity and HDL cholesterol diminished and LDL oxidizability increased with ALF. The marked rise in arterial compliance at least with alpha-linolenic acid reflected rapid functional improvement in the systemic arterial circulation despite a rise in LDL oxidizability. Dietary n-3 fatty acids in flax oil thus confer a novel approach to improving arterial function.

Fish oil supplementation improves large arterial elasticity in overweight hypertensive patients

“…The result was consistent with other studies (McVeigh et al, 1994;Nestel et al, 1997Nestel et al, , 2002O'Keefe et al, 2006). Large arterial stiffening was associated with hypertension, but both are not identified.…”

“…Clinical trials have showed that n-3 fatty acids (fish oil, flaxseed oil or purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) supplementation can improve arterial elasticity in normotensive subjects with dyslipidemia, obesity or diabetes (McVeigh et al, 1994;Nestel et al, 1997Nestel et al, , 2002.…”

Health aspects of fish and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from plant and marine origin

“…In the Health Professional Follow-up Study the relative risk of CHD for a one energy-% increase in alpha-linolenic acid was 0.41 after adjustment for standard risk factors and intake of ®bre and total fat (Ascherio et al, 1996). An increase in arterial compliance by dietary alpha-linolenic acid, which might decrease the work load of the heart, might contribute to a reduced risk in CHD by alphalinolenic acid (Nestel et al, 1997). Arterial compliance is also increased by marine n-3 PUFA in diabetics.…”

“…In epidemiological studies no relation could be detected between ®sh intake and blood pressure. The limited data on alpha-linolenic acid show variable effects (Salonen, 1991;Nestel et al, 1997).…”

Carotid artery compliance in users of plant stanol ester margarine

“…In addition, dietary fish oil supplementation for 6 weeks improved arterial compliance in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes (McVeigh et al, 1994). Furthermore, n-3 rich flaxseed oil supplementation for 4 weeks increased systemic arterial compliance in obese subjects (Nestel et al, 1997). Thus, the association between stanol ester margarine use and higher arterial compliance may partly be mediated by a linolenic fatty acid.…”