Journal
HELIYON
Volume 5, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02251
Keywords
Cancer research; Cell biology; Cell culture; Cell death; Food science; Natural product; Nutrition; Flaxseed oil; Cancer cells; Cell death; Omega fatty acids
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Funding
- Northern Cancer Foundation, Sudbury, Ontario
- Cancer Therapeutics Research Initiative, Sudbury, Ontario
- National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Research Tools and Instruments)
- Canadian Foundation for Innovation-Ontario Research Fund, Laurentian University
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Flaxseed oil is widely recognized for its exceptional nutritional value, high concentration of fiber-based lignans and large amounts of omega-fatty acids. It is one of a generic group of functional foods that is often taken by cancer patients as a potential treatment. We have examined the anti-cancer effects of flaxseed oil by studying its direct effects on cancer cell growth in vitro. Treatment of a variety of cancer cell lines with flaxseed oil decreased their growth in a dose-dependent manner while non-malignant cell lines showed small increases in cell growth. Cells treated with a mixture of fatty acids, including alpha-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid and lignans including enterodiol and enterolactone was also able to decrease the growth of cancer cells. Treatment of B16-BL6 murine melanoma and MCF-7 breast cancer cells with flaxseed oil induced apoptosis as determined by changes in cell morphology, annexin V staining, DNA fragmentation and/or caspase activation. In addition, treatment with flaxseed oil also disrupted mitochondrial function in B16-BL6 and MCF-7 cells. These results indicate that flaxseed oil can specifically inhibit cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis in some cancer cells and suggests it has further potential in anti-cancer therapy.
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