Role of flaxseed oil supplementation in diabetes mellitus

Hyperglycemia results in excessive production of free radicals which leads to sever oxidative damage of the cell components like lipids, proteins and DNA. These radicals attack the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the cell membrane leading to disturbances in membrane structure and properties such as membrane permeability, integrity and also the binding of insulin to its receptors that is embedded in the cell membrane, Thus it was found that membrane enriched in unsaturated fatty acids tends to bind more insulin than membrane enriched in saturated fatty acids, and the membrane components may be affected by food intake. In this study we aimed to increase omega-3 fatty acids through flaxseed oil supplementation daily as it contains a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in order to improve cell membrane components and improve cell membrane functions including the interaction between insulin and its receptors and then increasing insulin sensitivity through improving insulin mechanism.