Effect of flaxseed on serum lipid profile and expression of NPC1L1, ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes in the intestine of diabetic rat

Objectives: the aim of this study was to examine the effect of flaxseed on gene expression of intestinal transporters: niemann-pick c1 like 1 (npc1l1), atp-cassette binding proteins g5 (abcg5) and g8 (abcg8). methods: animals were randomly divided into 3 groups 8 rats in each group: group1; normal diet, group2; diabetic rats, and group3; diabetic rats + 4% (w/w) flaxseed. after one-month rats were sacrificed, blood was collected; lipid profiles were determined enzymatically, and mrna levels were determined by rt-pcr. results: compared to diabetic rats, flaxseed significantly decreased total cholesterol (tc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c), triglycerides, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (vldl-c) and atherogenic index (all p<0.05). intestinal npc1l1 mrna was significantly decreased (p<0.01) in flaxseed group treatment compared with diabetic animals. intestinal abcg5 and abcg8 mrnas were significantly increased (p<0.001) in flaxseed group treatment compared with diabetic animals. conclusion: in conclusion, flaxseed significantly reduced lipid profile and atherogenic index, as compared with the diabetic group. flaxseed treatment also led to down-regulation of npc1l1 mrna and up-regulation of abcg5 and abcg8 mrnas in the intestine of rats.