Effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on depression and serum level (BDNF α) in depressed women: a randomized, double blind clinical trial

Background and Aim : Depression defined as a common mood disorder which can affect different aspects of a person s health such as eating, feeling, Perform daily activities and sleeping (1). According to the WHO report in 2003, depression was a third cause of disease all over the world and predicted that depression will be the first cause of disease by 2030(2). Various factors are involved in occurrence of depression, such as genetic, psychological or environmental agents. One of these environmental agents is nutritional factors (3). Various studies conducted on effectiveness of EPA and DHA on depression disorder. Effectiveness of EPA and DHA on depression was depended to dosage and proportion of them Meta-analysis study showed that greater dose of EPA is more effective in reducing depression symptom that DHA(4). In 2009, Blondeau et al. Showed that injection of alpha-linolenic derivatives in mice induced neurogenesis in hippocampus, increased BDNF expression in vivo and in vitro, as well as increased neuronal cell synaptogenesis (Nsc) as well as increased cell and cell proliferation(5). Also according to animal studies conducted in 2017, flaxseed oil as a source of ALA can be effective in reducing postpartum depression symptoms of Egyptian rats(6). According to the increasing trend of depressive disorder worldwide, finding a nutritional agent that improve depression symptoms can be very effective. According to our knowledge, no study assesses the effect of flaxseed oil supplementation as a major source of ALA on depressive symptom.So this study designed to investigative a possible beneficial effect of flaxseed oil supplementation among depressed subjectsMethods : sixty depressed women aged 18-45 years were randomly divided in two group. One of them were asked to consume soft gel of flaxseed oil, 1000 mg, 2 times per day for 10 weeks and the other one consumed placebo. Serum concentration of BDNF and BECK-II questionnaire were measured before and after intervention.Results : Result of this study showed that BDNF serum concentration of subjects who were in flaxseed oil group increased significantly after 10-week intervention compared with placebo group (adjusted mean± standard deviation of BDNF concentration: 1.12±0.6 pg/ml, 0.2±0.56 pg/ml respectively; p<0.05). also beck score was significantly lower after flaxseed oil consumption compared with placebo (-16.62±7.03, -8.45±7.8; p<0.05).Conclusion : flaxseed oil consumption may have a beneficial effect on BDNF concentration and beckII score in depressed women. Further study with more participants and longer follow up period are merited.

کلیدواژه ها:

flaxseed oil ، depression ، BDNF serum