$1.18 Million grant supports study on flaxseed and antihypertensive drugs

Dr. Michel Aliani, a distinguished professor in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and principal investigator in the Nutritional Metabolomics Research Division at St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, has been awarded a $1,189,575 grant to fund his five-year research project on the potential health benefits of dietary flaxseed. The generous funding will support Dr. Aliani’s study exploring how flaxseed consumption could influence the effectiveness and safety of blood pressure-lowering medications.

Dr. Aliani’s research aims to uncover how flaxseed, a common dietary supplement, could interact with antihypertensive drugs to help manage blood pressure more effectively. Utilizing state-of-the-art instrumentation and cutting-edge metabolomics methods, his study will track and analyze the complex metabolic pathways involved in both flaxseed consumption and the metabolism of antihypertensive medications.

“This research is a step forward in understanding the blood pressure-lowering effects of flaxseed and its potential role when combined with blood pressure medications,” Dr. Aliani explained. “We believe a beneficial interaction between flaxseed and these drugs could allow for reduced medication dosages, while maintaining their effectiveness in controlling blood pressure.”

Dr. Aliani and his team plan to explore the thousands of compounds involved in drug and flaxseed metabolism, utilizing advanced tools developed in their labs over the past few years. These tools will enable them to better understand how specific components of flaxseed may mimic the actions of antihypertensive drugs, potentially fostering beneficial interactions with the medications.

Contributing to personalized medicine

The favorable outcomes of this study could pave the way for new recommendations in personalized medicine, particularly in the realm of diet-drug interactions. By providing important safety data and insight into how flaxseed can work alongside antihypertensive drugs, Dr. Aliani’s work could lead to more precise dosage recommendations for patients who incorporate flaxseed into their daily diets.

Dr. Aliani emphasized the broader impact of the study: “Through this research, we hope to make significant contributions to personalized healthcare, offering insights that may allow healthcare professionals to tailor drug dosages based on specific food interactions, such as with flaxseed.”

As the project progresses over the next five years, Dr. Aliani and his team aim to provide vital data that could influence future treatment strategies for patients with hypertension, combining the power of dietary science with the precision of pharmacology.

(sourced from St. Boniface Hospital Research news blog)