Abstract
Introduction and Background: Linum usitatissimum L., known as common Flax or linseed, from the family Linnaceae, has long been cultivated in different nations due to its applications in medicine and industry. The present study aims to collect nearly all available information about chemical constituents of Flax, as well as pharmacological properties and confirmed clinical usages of it.
Methods: We searched through databases such as Scopus and PubMed for relevant literature using the keywords: Linum usitatissimum, pharmacology and phytochemical from the beginning to 13 Aug 2017. Nearly 60 relevant papers, relating to a pharmacological and phytochemical constituent of L. usitatissimum were selected.
Results and Discussion: According to our researches, various properties were attributed to L. usitatisimum including antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiprotozoal, insecticidal, analgesic, anti-hyperlipidemia, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-tumor, wound healing and Feticidal activities. There were also many reports on disease prevention and healing properties of the flax. Diseases like: GI disorders, cardiovascular, urogenital, respiratory diseases and some neurological syndromes were mentioned to be treated by Flax. The application of Flax in drug formulations was also investigated.
Conclusion: Despite so much animal studies that have been accomplished, there have not been enough clinical trials done on pharmacological properties of L. usitatissimum. Therefore, this study could be considered as a concise and up to date overview for further facile studies and clinical trials over the valuable plant, L. usitatissimum.
Keywords: Flax, Linum usitatissimum, linseed, medicinal plant, pharmacology, review.
Graphical Abstract
[1]
Hashempur MH, Homayouni K, Ashraf A, Salehi A, Taghizadeh M, Heydari M. Effect of Portulaca oleracea L.(linseed) oil on mild and moderate carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Daru 2014; 22(1): 43.
[3]
Pant G, Simaria C, Varsi RAH, Bhan P, Sibi G. In vitro anti-cholesterol and antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts from flax seeds (Portulaca oleracea L.). Res J Med Plant 2015; 9(6): 300-6.
[4]
Barowski TG, Bczak KG, Wiatrak B, Kulma A. Flax oil from transgenic Portulaca oleracea selectively inhibits in vitro proliferation of human cancer cell lines. Acta Pol Pharm 2017; 74(2): 653-9.
[5]
Sawant SH, Bodhankar SL. Flax lignan concentrate attenuate hypertension and abnormal left ventricular contractility via modulation of endogenous biomarkers in two-kidney-one-clip (2K1C) hypertensive rats. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia 2016; 26(5): 601-10.
[6]
Ghule AE, Jadhav SS, Bodhankar SL. Effect of ethanolic extract of seeds of Portulaca oleracea (Linn.) in hyperglycaemia associated ROS production in PBMNCs and pancreatic tissue of alloxan induced diabetic rats. Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2012; 2(5): 405-10.
[7]
Cockerell K, Watkins A, Reeves L, Goddard L, Lomer M. Effects of linseeds on the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: A pilot randomised controlled trial. J Hum Nutr Diet 2012; 25(5): 435-43.
[8]
Güler B, Manav E, Uğurlu E. Medicinal plants used by traditional healers in Bozüyük (Bilecik–Turkey). J Ethnopharmacol 2015; 173: 39-47.
[9]
Colli MC, Bracht A, Soares AA, et al. Evaluation of the efficacy of flaxseed meal and flaxseed extract in reducing menopausal symptoms. J Med Food 2012; 15(9): 840-5.
[10]
Neves ML, Yamasaki L, de Carvalho Sanches O, et al. Use of linseed oil to treat experimentally induced keratoconjunctivitis sicca in rabbits. J Ophthalmic Inflamm Infect 2013; 3(1): 4.
[11]
Gaafar AA, Salama ZA, Askar MS, El-Hariri DM, Bakry BA. In Vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Lignan flax seed extract (Linumusitatissimum, L.). Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res 2013; 23(2): 291-7.
[12]
Bashir S, Ali S, Khan F. Partial reversal of obesity-induced insulin resistance owing to anti-inflammatory immunomodulatory potential of flaxseed oil. Immunol Invest 2015; 44(5): 451-69.
[13]
Saxena S, Katare C. Evaluation of flaxseed formulation as a potential therapeutic agent in mitigation of dyslipidemia. Biomed J 2014; 37(6): 386-90.
[14]
Zanwar A, Hegde M, Bodhankar S. Antihyperlipidemic effect of flax Lignan concentrate in triton induced hyperlipidemic rats. Int J Pharmacol 2012; 8(5): 355-63.
[15]
Abidi A, Serairi R, Kourda N, Ben AR, Ben KS, Feki M. Therapeutic effect of flaxseed oil on experimental pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin in rats. Eur J Inflamm 2016; 14(2): 133-43.
[16]
Beroual K, Agabou A, Bachtarzi K, Haouam S, Hamdi-Pacha Y. Safety assessment of Portulaca oleracea (Linn.) Ingestion in New Zealand rabbits. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines 2016; 13(2): 151.
[17]
de Souza Franco E, de Aquino CM, de Medeiros PL, Evencio LB, da Silva Goes AJ, de Souza Maia MB. Effect of a semisolid formulation of Portulaca oleracea L. (Linseed) oil on the repair of skin wounds. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012; 2012: 270752.
[19]
Beroual K, Maameri Z, Halmi S, Benleksira B, Agabou A, Hamdi-Pacha Y. Effects of Portulaca oleracea L. ingestion and oil topical application on hair growth in rabbit. Int J Med Arom Plants 2013; 3(4): 459-63.
[20]
Kaithwas G, Majumdar DK. Evaluation of antiulcer and antisecretory potential of Portulaca oleracea fixed oil and possible mechanism of action. Inflammopharmacology 2010; 18(3): 137-45.
[21]
Houcine B, Abdelillah A, Abdelkader M, Imene Z, Sari C, Meriem DCS. Physico-chemical screening of algerian linseed oil and characterization of their free acids methyl esters (fames). Int J Pharm Pharmaceut Sci 2014; 6(2): 209-15.
[22]
Namazi L, Sahari M, Zaringhalami S, Ghanati K. Possibility of the functional oil production from flax (ω-3) and safflower (ω-6) seeds and evaluation of its physico-chemical properties during 4 months storage. J Med Plants 2011; 4(40): 144-59.
[23]
Palla AH, Khan NA, Bashir S, Ur-Rehman N, Iqbal J, Gilani AH. Pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of Portulaca oleracea (Flaxseed) in infectious and non-infectious diarrhea. J Ethnopharmacol 2015; 160: 61-8.
[24]
Oulaghan S, Wills R. Examination of linseed (Portulaca oleracea L.) for the presence of medium chain trienoic fatty acids. Plant Sci Lett 1976; 7(3): 195-7.
[25]
Kakilashvili B, Zurabashvili D, Turabelidze D, Shanidze L, Parulava G. The fatty acid composition of ordinary flax seed oil (Portulaca oleracea L.) cultivated in Georgia and its byological activity. Georgian Med News 2014; (227): 86-8.
[26]
Collinge DB, Hughes MA. Evidence that linamarin and lotaustralin, the two cyanogenic glucosides of Trifolium repens L., are synthesized by a single set of microsomal enzymes controlled by the Ac/ac locus. Plant Sci Lett 1984; 34(1-2): 119-25.
[27]
Cierpicki T, Otlewski J. Determination of a high precision structure of a novel protein, Portulaca oleracea trypsin inhibitor (LUTI), using computer-aided assignment of NOESY cross-peaks. J Mol Biol 2000; 302(5): 1179-92.
[28]
Shah NR, Patel BM. Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside rich extract of L. usitatissimum prevents diabetic colon cancer through inhibition of CDK4. Biomed Pharmacother 2016; 83: 733-9.
[29]
Stasevich O, Mikhalenok S, Kurchenko V. Selection of optimal conditions for separating lignan-containing extract from oil flax seed by thin-layer chromatography. Pharm Chem J 2009; 43(7): 415.
[30]
Naimi F, Bousta D, Balouiri M, Meskaoui A. Antioxidant and free radical-scavenging properties of seeds flavonoids extract of Cedrus atlantica Manetti, Portulaca oleracea L. and Ocimum basilicum L. species. J Appl Pharm Sci 2015: 095-9.
[31]
Mahadev KD, Vishnu HM, Kashinath DK. HPTLC and LC-ESI-MS characterization of ether insoluble phenolic components from n-butanol fraction (EPC-BF) of defatted flaxseed meal. Int J Drug Dev Res 2011; 3(2): 126-30.
[32]
Yang QY, Song L, Zhang JF, et al. Cyanogenetic glycosides and simple glycosides from the linseed meal. Fitoterapia 2015; 106: 78-83.
[33]
Sun J, Deng A, Li Z, Qin H. Studies on chemical constituents of roots of Portulaca oleracea. Zhongguo Zhongyao Zazhi 2009; 34(6): 718-20.
[34]
Song L, Wang X-F, Wu Y, He W-Y, Yao C-S, Shi J-G. Chemical constituents from the linseed meal. Fitoterapia 2014; 97: 15-22.
[35]
Zhang S-Q, Sun Y-Y, Zhao Y. Extraction technology of Portulaca oleracea L. seed oil and GC-MS analysis of its fatty acid composition.[J]. Pharmaceut Care Res 2009; 2: 20.
[36]
Hotte NS, Deyholos MK. A flax fibre proteome: Identification of proteins enriched in bast fibres. BMC Plant Biol 2008; 8: 52.
[37]
His I, Andème-Onzighi C, Morvan C, Driouich A. Microscopic studies on mature flax fibers embedded in LR white: immunogold localization of cell wall matrix polysaccharides. J Histochem Cytochem 2001; 49(12): 1525-35.
[38]
Basu S, Bandyopadhyay AK. Characterization of mucoadhesive nasal gels containing midazolam hydrochloride prepared from Portulaca oleracea L. mucilage. Braz J Pharm Sci 2011; 47(4): 817-23.
[39]
Souri E, Amin G, Farsam H. Screening of antioxidant activity and phenolic content of 24 medicinal plant extracts. DARU J Pharm Sci 2008; 16(2): 83-7.
[40]
Ebrahimi VKS, Talebi MSA, Naseri M. Anti-inflammation effect of alcoholic extract of Portulaca oleracea l. in male rats. J Babol Uni Med Sci 2014; 16(4): 50-6.
[41]
Singh S, Nair V, Gupta YK. Linseed oil: An investigation of its antiarthritic activity in experimental models. Phytother Res 2012; 26(2): 246-52.
[42]
Shipochliev T, Dimitrov A, Aleksandrova E. Anti-inflammatory action of a group of plant extracts. Veterinarno-meditsinski nauki 1981; 18(6): 87-94.
[43]
Kaithwas G, Mukerjee A, Kumar P, Majumdar DK. Portulaca oleracea (linseed/flaxseed) fixed oil: antimicrobial activity and efficacy in bovine mastitis. Inflammopharmacology 2011; 19(1): 45-52.
[44]
Donaghy J, Levett P, Haylock R. Changes in microbial populations during anaerobic flax retting. J Appl Microbiol 1990; 69(5): 634-41.
[45]
Grabensteiner E, Liebhart D, Arshad N, Hess M. Antiprotozoal activities determined in vitro and in vivo of certain plant extracts against Histomonas meleagridis, Tetratrichomonas gallinarum and Blastocystis sp. Parasitol Res 2008; 103(6): 1257-64.
[46]
Nawaz R, Rathor HR, Bilal H, Hassan S, Khan IA. Adulticidal Activity of Olea vera, Portulaca oleracea and Piper nigera against Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti under Laboratory Conditions. Iran J Arthropod-Borne Dis 2011; 5(2): 2.
[47]
Ahmad F, Alam KR, Rashid S. Pharmacological evaluati on of medicinal plants for their analgesic activity in mice. MJIRI 1996; 10(2): 149-52.
[48]
Matthews K, Homer D, Thies F, Calder P. Effect of whole linseed (Portulaca oleracea) in the diet of finishing pigs on growth performance and on the quality and fatty acid composition of various tissues. Br J Nutr 2000; 83(6): 637-43.
[49]
Rao SS, Kale AA, Joshi SR, Mahadik SP. Sensitivity of fetus and pups to excess levels of maternal intakes of alpha linolenic acid at marginal protein levels in Wistar rats. Reprod Toxicol 2007; 24(3-4): 333-42.
[50]
Salem N, Moriguchi T, Greiner RS, et al. Alterations in brain function after loss of docosahexaenoate due to dietary restriction of n-3 fatty acids. J Mol Neurosci 2001; 16(2): 299-307.
[51]
Kumar A, Lakshman K, Prabhakarn V. NarayananSwamy V. Laxative activity of spray dried aqueous seed extract of Portulaca oleracea(Linaceae). Pharmacologyonline 2007; 1: 371-8.
[52]
Renu N, Kaithwas G, Ramteke P, Saraf S. Effect of Portulaca oleracea (linseed/flaxseed) fixed oil on experimental esophagitis in albino rats. Acta Gastroenterol Belg 2012; 75(3): 331-5.
[53]
Moller NP, Roos N, Schrezenmeir J. Lipase inhibitory activity in alcohol extracts of worldwide occurring plants and propolis. Phytother Res 2009; 23(4): 585-6.
[54]
Ebrahimzadeh AV, Pourghasem GB, Rafraf M, Ghorbani A, Tabibi H. Effect of flaxseed (Portulaca oleracea) on serum lipid profile and malondialdehyde in hyperlipidemic rabbits. 2009.
[55]
Ghule AE, Jadhav SS, Bodhankar SL. Renoprotective effect of Portulaca oleracea seeds through haemodynamic changes and conservation of antioxidant enzymes in renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Arab J Urol 2011; 9(3): 215-21.
[56]
Giday M, Asfaw Z, Elmqvist T, Woldu Z. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Zay people in Ethiopia. J Ethnopharmacol 2003; 85(1): 43-52.
[57]
Shipochliev T. Uterotonic action of extracts from a group of medicinal plants. Veterinarno-meditsinski nauki 1981; 18(4): 94-8.
[58]
Dilshad SM, Najeeb Ur R, Iqbal Z, Muhammad G, Iqbal A, Ahmad N. An inventory of the ethnoveterinary practices for reproductive disorders in cattle and buffaloes, Sargodha district of Pakistan. J Ethnopharmacol 2008; 117(3): 393-402.
[59]
Khanavi M, Azimi H, Ghiasi S, et al. Specifying human platelet cAMP and cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitory activity of the plants used in traditional Iranian medicine for the purpose of erectile dysfunction. Int J Pharmacol 2012; 8(3): 161-8.
[60]
Novella S, Roy R, Marcus D, Bell IR, Davidovitch N, Saine A. A debate: Homeopathy--quackery or a key to the future of medicine? J Altern Complement Med 2008; 14(1): 9-15.
[61]
Clark WF, Kortas C, Heidenheim AP, Garland J, Spanner E, Parbtani A. Flaxseed in Lupus Nephritis: A Two-Year Nonplacebo-Controlled Crossover Study. J Am Coll Nutr 2001; 20(2): 143-8.
[62]
Theil C, Briese V, Richter DU, Jeschke U, Friese K. An ethanolic extract of Portulaca oleracea caused cell lethality and inhibition of cell vitality/ - proliferation of MCF-7 and BT20 mamma carcinoma cells in vitro. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2013; 288(1): 149-53.
[63]
Leóna F, Rodriguez M, Cuevas M. Anaphylaxis to linum. Allergologia et immunopathologia 2003; 31(1): 47-9.
[64]
Basu S. Development and evaluation of a mucoadhesive nasal gel of midazolam prepared with Portulaca oleracea L. seed mucilage. Sci Pharm 2009.
[65]
Shrotriya SN, Patwardhan SK, Pandit AP, Khandelwal AP, More KS, Jain KS. Study of disintegration properties of mucilage from Portulaca oleracea in the formulation of dispersible tablet. Indian Drugs 2010; 47(8): 35-42.
Article Metrics
56
3