Flaxseeds with omega-3s reduce radiation damage
Plant omega 3: less radiation damage thanks to flaxseed
Intake of flaxseed, dietary sources of Omega 3, may reduce lung damage associated with radiation exposure. This is suggested by a study conducted by Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (United States), published in BioMed Central Cancer. The researchers studied the effects of flaxseed intake in mice subjected to chest X-rays. The results were interesting: post-treatment supplementation with these vegetables allows:
- Reduce pulmonary fibrosis;
- Decrease inflammation;
- Decrease the production of molecules that activate the immune system;
- Increasing survival.
Such treatment counteracts the same kind of damage caused by radiotherapy.
Flaxseed: the properties
Flaxseeds, plant products rich in omega-3 fatty acids, are best known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In an earlier study, published in Cancer Biology also Therapy, Christofidou-Solomidou had shown that these foods help prevent lung damage in mice undergoing chest X-ray therapy. This type of treatment, as well as the inhalation of airborne radioactive molecules, is associated with inflammation, oxidative tissue damage and irreversible fibrosis of the lungs. In the new study, researchers evaluated whether taking these seeds could mitigate the effects of X-rays when radiation exposure had already occurred.
The study
The diet of mice undergoing X-ray therapy was enriched with 10% flaxseed either immediately after treatment or 2, 4 or 6 weeks after radiation exposure. As a control, other mice were given a diet without the supplement.
Flaxseed protection
At 4 months after treatment, the survival rate of mice that had not received flaxseed was 40%. That of the animals that had received the Omega-3-rich supplement, on the other hand, ranged from 70 to 88 percent. Analysis of the lungs and a fibrosis marker also showed that fibrosis levels were lower in these mice than observed in the control group. In addition, the researchers observed less weight loss and fewer inflammatory molecules in the animals that had consumed flaxseed, which was characterized by higher blood oxygenation than in the other mice Migration of inflammation cells to the lungs, however, was reduced only if administration of the dietary supplement began no later than 2 weeks after X-ray treatment.
Flaxseed to repair the lungs
Their results show that substances in flaxseed help counteract the lung damage normally associated with radiation exposure. After this series of experiments, researchers began testing the effectiveness of administering this supplement to patients undergoing anticancer therapies.
