Flaxseed oil supplementation on severity of depression and brain-derived neurotrophic factor: a randomized, double blind placebo controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Emerging clinical studies suggest that flaxseed oil may be an effective intervention for the management of depression. The current trial was conducted to assess the effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on the Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the psychological status of women with depression. Subjects of 60 depressed women aged 18-45 were randomly divided into two groups. One group was asked to consume a 1000 mg flaxseed oil capsule, twice a day for 10 weeks, while the other consumed a placebo. Serum (BDNF), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) questionnaire, and anthropometric indices were measured before and after intervention. This study showed that serum BDNF concentration in the supplementation group increased significantly after 10-week intervention, compared with placebo (1.12 +/- 0.6 pg/ml vs. 0.2 +/- 0.56 pg/ml;p< .0001). Total BDI-II score was significantly lower after flaxseed oil supplementation, compared with placebo (-16.62 +/- 7.03, -8.45 +/- 7.8;p< .0001). The present study showed that flaxseed oil supplementation can confer a number of health benefits in depressed women, including increased serum BDNF concentrations, along with improvements in depression status.