Table 1.
Summary of metanalyses investigating the effect of ALA supplementation.
| Study Population | Trials Included |
Number of Participants | ALA Source | Dose | Duration | Effects | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At least one of hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, metabolic syndrome (n = 10), healthy subjects (n = 3), unknown (n = 1) | 14 | 1107 | Flaxseed oil (n = 6) rapeseed oil (n = 1) linseed oil (n = 2) camelina sativa oil (n = 1) botanical oil (n = 1) | 1.9–10 g/d | 2–12+ Weeks | ↓ LDL | Chen, H. et al. [20] |
| Healthy (34%), type 2 diabetes (23.4%), dyslipidemia (23.4%), other (19.2%) |
47 | 2630 | Flaxseed (46%), walnut (17%), other (37%) |
0.4–16 g | 3–104 Weeks (mean 15 weeks) | ↓ TG, LDL-C, VLDL-C, TC/HDL-C ratio, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio | Yue, H. et al. [21] |
| Healthy (30%), dyslipidemia (19%), obese (15%), other (36%) | 25 | 2579 | Flaxseed oil/linseed (60%) other (40%) | 1–14 g/d | 4 Weeks-2 years | No CRP reduction | Su, H. et al. [22] |
| CKD | 19 | 1145 | Olive oil (47%), corn oil (21%), flaxseed oil (21%), other (11%) | 2–30 g | 4–48 Weeks | ↓ CRP | de Abreu, A.M. et al. [23] |
| Unspecified | 14 | 345,202 | Unspecified | 0.36–2.8 g/d * | 4–22 Years follow-up | ↓ Risk of composite CHD ↓ risk of fatal CHD |
Wei, J. et al. [24] |
| CVD events | 27 | 251,049 | Unspecified | Unspecified | 5–30.7 Years | ↓ Fatal CHD | Pan, A. et al. [25] |
| Unspecified | 41 | 1,197,564 | Unspecified | 0.38–2.69 g/d | 2–32 Years follow-up | ↓ All-cause mortality, CVD mortality, CHD mortality ↑ cancer mortality |
Naghshi, S. et al. [26] |
| Unspecified | 86 | 162,796 | Unspecified | Unspecified | 12–88 Months |
↓ CVD events ↓ arrhythmia |
Abdelhamid, A.S. et al. [27] |
* Calculated from percentage of total energy. ↑ increase; ↓ decrease; ALA—α-linolenic acid; CKD—chronic kidney disease; CHD—coronary heart disease; CRP—C-reactive protein; CVD—cardiovascular disease; HDL—high density lipoprotein; HDL-C—HDL cholesterol; IL-6—interleukin 6; LDL—low density lipoprotein; LDL-C—LDL cholesterol; n—number; sICAM-1—soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1; sVCAM-1—soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; TC—total cholesterol; TG—triglycerides; TNF-α—tumor necrosis factor alpha; VLDL—very low density lipoprotein; VLDL-C—VLDL cholesterol.