Protective Effect of Flaxseed on the Health of Experimental Animals Exposed to Xylene

Xylene is mainly used as a solvent in the printing, tire and leather industries. It is also used as: a facility cleaner, paint and varnish thinner, component of fuel, and chemical for the laboratory processing of histological preparations. For these reasons people are frequently exposed to xylene and the risk of intoxication is high. This study focused on the protective effect of flaxseed on mice experimentally intoxicated with xylene. The experiment lasted 14 days. The mice used in this study (n = 60) were allocated to 3 groups: the control group (C) received only the standard diet; the xylene group (X) was fed a standard diet and was administered xylene p. o. (10 µl daily); and the xylene + flaxseed group (XF) received the standard feed, crushed flaxseed and xylene at the same dose as group X. The observations involved changes in: body weight, liver enzyme levels, and caspase activity in the liver of the mice. The administration of additives resulted in significant changes in the body weight of the mice on day 7 of the experiment (P < 0.05). The highest weight gain was observed in mice from the XF group. In contrast, the body weight of the mice from group X exposed only to xylene was the lowest. The biochemical analysis of the liver cells of the xylene intoxicated mice showed elevated levels of: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), De Ritis ratio (AST/ALT ratio), and lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes LDH-3 and LDH-5. Caspase-3, the marker of apoptosis, was increased in the XF group. Thus, the administration of flaxseed in our experiment had a beneficial effect on the clinical and metabolic parameters of mice intoxicated with xylene. Our results indicated that the administration of flaxseed, may act as a preventative measure with respect to xylene intoxication of animals; however, further analyses are needed to confirm this assumption.