Inhibition of Platelet Aggregation by Dietary Linseed Oil

Abstract

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing linseed oil, safflower oil, or cacao butter for 27 weeks. The collagen-induced aggregation of washed platelets decreased only in rats fed linseed oil. Dietary oils did not influence the phospholipid composition of platelets, but did influence the fatty acid composition of platelet phospholipids. Compared with the other diets, the linseed oil diet markedly decreased the arachidonic acid content in platelet phosphatidylcholine and accumulated the eicosapentaenoic acid in all phospholipids. A similar change was not found in platelets from rats fed the other diets. These results indicate that the feeding of linseed oil, which has a high linolenic acid (a precursor of eicosapentaenoic acid) content, alters the fatty acid composition of platelet phospholipids similar to the feeding of fish oils, and thereby reduces the aggregation tendency of platelets.