Effect of Linseed Meal on the Reproductive and Digestive Tracts in Sheep
Abstract
To evaluate the estrogenic potential of secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG) found in
linseed meal (LSM) on visceral organ mass, uterine mass, jejunal cellularity, jejunal
vascularity, and angiogenic factor expression in the jejunum, 48 multiparous,
ovariectomized ewes were used in a 3 x 4 factorial. Ewes were fed a diet containing 12.5%
LSM for 0, 1, 7, or 14 d and implanted with estradiol 17-ß (E2) for 0, 6, or 24 h before
tissue collection. This study confirmed that LSM interacts with E2 to alter uterine and
duodenal mass; that E2 is capable of altering liver, duodenal, and uterine mass; and that
LSM is capable of altering liver and duodenal mass. In addition to altering organ mass,
LSM interacted with E2, causing E2 to have no effect on cellular proliferation rate of the
jejunum when LSM was fed for 1, 7, or 14 d, whereas cellular proliferation was increased
in the duodenum in response to E2 when LSM was fed for 0 d. However, neither LSM nor
E2 altered any measurement of vascularity. Expression of angiogenic factor mRNA was
also examined. Implanting ewes with E2 for 6 h increased eNOS mRNA expression;
whereas, LSM and E2 interacted to alter mRNA expression of its receptor, sGC, as well as
VEGF's 2 receptors, FLT and KDR. Although this study confirmed LSM's ability to
interact with E2, further research is needed to investigate its effects on intact cyclic animals
as well as in pregnant animals and their offspring.