Flaxseed linolenic acid

Aside from its murky role in brain function, alpha-linolenic acid has some well-documented effects on heart disease. It reduces the risk of blood-clot formation, lowers the chance of potentially lethal irregular heartbeat, and probably has an antiinflammatory effect on blood vessels. Several studies have found a link between increased intake of the acid and reduced risk of death from heart disease. Alpha-linolenic acid helps lower blood cholesterol, but flaxseed has another component that performs this function even more effectively. This is soluble fiber, which isn t absorbed by the body and passes right through the digestive system. On its journey through the digestive tract, the fiber binds cholesterol and prevents it from... 

Linolenic acid (Alpha) 18 3 cis, cis, cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic Flaxseed (linseed) oil... 

Cunnane, S.C., Ganguli, S., and Menard, C. et al., High alpha-linolenic acid flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) some nutritional properties in humans, Br. J. Nutr., 69, 443-453, 1993. 

Ferrier, L., Caston, L., Leeson, S., Squires, J., Weaver, B., and Holub, B. 1995. a-Linolenic acid- and docosahexaenoic acid-enriched eggs from hens fed flaxseed Influence on blood lipids and platelet phospholipid fatty acids in humans. Am J. Clin Nutr. 62, 81-86. 

Goodridge, J., Ingalls, J., and Crow, G. 2001. Transfer of omega-3 linolenic acid and linoleic acid to milk fat from flaxseed or linola protected with formaldehyde. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 81, 525-532. Greenberg, S.M., Calbert, C.E., Savage, E.E., and Deuel, H.J., Jr. 1950. The effect of fat level of the diet on general nutrition. J. Nutr. 41, 473- 186. 

Manthey, F.A., Lee, R.E., and Hall, C.A., III 2002a. Stability of alpha-linolenic acid in macaroni containing ground flaxseed. In Proceedings of the 59th Flax Institute of the United States , pp. 14—20. Fargo, ND. 

Oikarinen, S, Pajari, A., Salminen, I., Heinonen, S.M., Adlercreutz, H., and Mutanen, M. 2005. Effects of a flaxseed mixture and plant oils rich in alpha-linolenic acid on the adenoma formation in multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice. Br. J. Nutr. 94, 510-518. 

Prasad, K., Mantha, S.V., Muir, A.D., and Westcott, N.D. 1998. Reduction of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis by CDC-flaxseed with very low alpha-linolenic acid. Atherosclerosis 136, 367-375. Prasad, K., Mantha, S.V., Muir, A.D., and Westcott, N.D. 2000. Protective effect of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside against streptozotocin-induced diabetes and its mechanism. Mol. Cell. Bio-chem. 206, 141-150. 

Cunnane, S.C. (1995) Metabolism and function of a-linolenic acid in humans, in Flaxseed in Human Nutrition (eds. S.C. Cunnane and L. Thompson), AOCS Press, Champaign, Illinois, USA, pp. 99-127. 

Low Linolenic Acid Flaxseed Oil (Unhydrogenated) Low Linolenic Acid Linseed Oil... 

Solin Oil occurs as a light yellow oil. It is obtained from the seed of certain varieties of the flaxseed plant Linum usitatissi-mum L. (Fam. Linaceae) by mechanical expression and/or solvent extraction, differing from linseed oil in having a linolenic acid (C18 3) content of less than 5%. The oil is refined, bleached, and deodorized to remove free fatty acids, phospholipids, color, odor and flavor components, and miscellaneous non-oil materials. It is liquid and free from visible foreign material at 21° to 21°, but traces of wax may cause the oil to cloud at refrigeration temperatures (2° to 5°) unless removed by winterization. 

Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed Oil, 8 Low Linolenic Acid Flaxseed Oil (Unhydrogenated), 58 Low Linolenic Acid Linseed Oil, 58 Lysozyme, 18... 

You may hear about getting omega-3s from plant sources, especially flaxseed and flaxseed oil but also from soybeans, canola and walnut oils, and various kinds of nuts. All of those foods contain a far less potent form of the beneficial fatty acids called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). You may even see ALA supplements on sale in health food stores and pharmacies, but only a fraction, a small fraction, of ALA is converted by the body into EPA and DHA. Stick with the fish oils or the concentrated ethyl ester supplements. 

Abbreviations LLCAN—Low iinoienic acid canola oil HOGAN—High oleic acid canola oil GLCO—Canola oil with gamma linolenic acid LLFlax—Flaxseed oil with reduced content of linolenic acid LTCAN—Canola oil with high content of lauric acid SUN—Sunflower oil MUFA—Monounsaturated fatty acids PUFA— Polyunsaturated fatty acids. 

Many species in the Europhorbiaceae and Labiatae families produce seeds with a high content of oil and contribution of hnolenic acid of up to 76% (1). Flaxseed has been used for years in the production of paints, varnishes, inks, and linoleum. In food applications, flaxseed is more often used than oil because of its better stability and because of the presence of fiber, lignans, and a-linolenic acid (ALA), which have health benefits. Cold pressed flaxseed oil is not considered suitable for deep-frying, although Chinese use it in stir-frying (2). In this chapter, oilseeds of flax, perilla, camelina, and chia are discussed as sources of oils with elevated content of ALA. These oilseeds are produced in industrial quantities and can be considered as potential sources of new oils with specific nutritional and functional properties. 

Canada is one of the major flaxseed producers and exporters, where a minimal amount of seeds is crushed to produce flax oil. Flax oil is mainly considered as a health food product but not a commodity oil. Figure 2 shows yearly production of flaxseeds in Canada for the past ten years. On average, Canada is producing above 800,000 MT (metric tons) of flaxseed per year (5). Part of this production is low linolenic acid varieties, which contribute from 10% to 15% to the total production. 

Some physicochemical properties of conventional flaxseed oil and low linolenic varieties are presented in Table 1. The higher specific gravity of 0.935 observed for flaxseed oil than other vegetable oils can be directly attributed to the high contribution of linolenic acid. It is in line with the specific density of fatty acids that increases from 0.895 to 0.9038 and to 0.914 for oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids, respectively (7). 

The contribution of linolenic acid in flaxseed oil showed a wide range and was affected by the growing conditions. Flax varieties grown in Western Canada, average from 495 samples analyzed, contained 5% palmitic acid (16 0), 3% stearic acid (18 0), 17% oleic acid (18 1), 15% linoleic acid (18 2), and 59% linolenic acid (18 3) (11). Although similar varieties were grown in North Dakota, the 11 cultivars assessed showed the following fatty acid composition 5-6% of 16 0, 3-6% of 18 0, 19-29% of 18 1, 14-18% of 18 2, and 45-52% of 18 3 (12). 

Cool temperatures during the 10-25 days after flowering are the main cause for higher amounts of linolenic acid in flax oils (14). For the same reason, flaxseed grown in the Canadian prairies, northern latimde, produce oils with higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lower contributions of oleic acid and samrated fatty acids. This phenomenon was also observed for other oilseeds such as sunflower, canola, and soybean (7, 13, 14). Similarly, a wide variation in fatty acid composition in Australian flaxseed samples was observed 13-25% of 18 1 and 46-64% of 18 3 (6). 

The seed of perilla contains 31-51% of oil, which is similar in composition to flaxseed oil, with a higher contribution of PUFA of over 70% (Table 4). The oil is highly unsaturated, with an iodine value of 192-208-g iodine /100-g oil (Table 4). Perilla oil contains over 60% linolenic acid with equal amounts of both linoleic and oleic acids (Table 4). Specific gravity of this oil is higher than flax oil because of a higher contribution of PUFA. Other physical parameters of this oil reflect the composition of its fatty acids. 

In 1996, Angers et al. (10) investigated the fatty acid composition of the seed oils of four species of basil, including Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum canum, Ocimum gratissimum, and Ocimum sanctum. Also, four total different varieties of Ocimum basilicum were tested. AU samples were compared with flaxseed oil and had similar fatty acid profiles in regard to a-linolenic, palmitic, and stearic acids. The flaxseed oil had 52% a-linolenic acid, and the basil seed oils had 57.4—62.5% a-linolenic acid (Table 2). The n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratio of the flaxseed oil was 1 3.2, and... 

---