IJCS | Volume 31, Nº2, March / April 2018

119 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Control Cholesterol Flaxseed Mean Mean ± SE Mean ± SD ICAM-1 – segment 4 Group Figure 1 – Mean intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) values at the animals’ aortic segment 4 in each group. Martins et al. Flaxseed ReducesTNF-α Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2018;31(2)114-122 Original Article Table 4 – Mean, median, minimum and maximum, standard deviation, and p values for triglycerides in all groups Variable Group n Mean Median Minimum Maximum Standard deviation p value* Triglycerides (baseline) Control (G1) 10 65.30 50.00 36.00 206.00 50.87 Cholesterol (G2) 10 59.50 56.50 25.00 146.00 32.74 Flaxseed (G3) 9 79.44 78.00 32.00 149.00 38.20 0.308 Triglycerides - (end of the study) Control (G1) 10 67.50 65.00 7.00 228.00 63.27 Cholesterol (G2) 10 64.60 44.50 20.00 204.00 53.31 Flaxseed (G3) 8 22.50 14.00 11.00 53.00 15.26 0.042 Difference (end of the study - baseline) Control (G1) 10 2.20 13.50 -56.00 47.00 33.98 Cholesterol (G2) 10 5.10 -17.50 -98.00 148.00 66.92 Flaxseed (G3) 9 -59.44 -63.00 -149.00 16.00 48.12 0.022 * Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.05. Another hypothesis is the duration of the functional diet (8 weeks), which may have been too short to induce a significant reduction in LDL-C and TC. In the present study, no differences in HDL-C levels were observed among the three groups. Higher levels of HDL-C increase the protection against the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the heart. Studies have shown that flaxseed intake at a dose of 15%was strongly associatedwith protection from inflammation, estrogens, and genotoxicity. 21 The results that we found most fascinating were those of TG levels. There was a significant decrease (by approximately 70%) in this biochemical parameter in group G 3, which demonstrates that the administration of feed containing flaxseed (a functional food that contains primarily omega-3 fatty acids, fibers, and lignans) was