Flaxseed and/or hesperidin supplementation in metabolic syndrome: an open-labeled randomized controlled trial

Purpose The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical effect of flaxseed and hesperidin alone and with combination in patients with metabolic syndrome. Number of participants with treated metabolic syndrome was assessed as a primary end point. Methods In this 12-week randomized controlled trial, ninety-eight patients with metabolic syndrome randomly assigned to receive either whole flaxseed powder (30 g/day), or hesperidin (1 g/day), or combination of 30 g flaxseed and 1 g hesperidin or no supplement while adhering a lifestyle modification program. Results In comparison to control group, systolic blood pressure (− 5.68 vs. − 2.91 mmHg, P = 0.041) and serum concentrations of triglyceride (− 50.06 vs. 3.87 mg/dL, P = 0.033) in hesperidin group showed a significant reduction over 12 weeks of intervention. Comparison of the results of flaxseed group with the control group showed a significant improvement in serum concentrations of triglyceride (− 66 vs. 3.87 mg/dL, P = 0.028), insulin (− 4.27 vs. − 2.51 mU/L, P = 0.003) and accordingly insulin resistance (− 1.19 vs. − 0.76, P = 0.005) and sensitivity (0.03 vs. 0.01, P = 0.022) indices in flaxseed group. Combination of flaxseed and hesperidin improved three of five metabolic syndrome components including serum concentrations of triglyceride, glucose and systolic blood pressure as compared to placebo. Interestingly, co-administration of flaxseed and hesperidin with 77.3% reduction in the prevalence of defined metabolic syndrome was revealed to be most effective in controlling the metabolic syndrome, after which the group of flaxseed with 76% reduction and hesperidin group with 54.5% reduction were ranked second and third, respectively. Conclusions It can be concluded that co-administration of flaxseed and hesperidin appears to be superior to either supplementation alone on metabolic syndrome treatment, while the effects of flaxseed are stronger than hesperidin supplementation.