cardiovascular diseases

For over 5000 years flaxseed in its various forms has been a part of the diet of people in Asia, Africa and Europe. It has a long history of use as both a food and a medicine, with the seed being most commonly used. The oil was also popular and has been a traditional food of the Egyptians from the time of the Pharaohs to the present day. The oil is also consumed by the Chinese, who documented its medicinal properties in the Pen-T’s AO, the Great Chinese Pharmacopeia (Judd 1995). Its Latin name usitatissimum means ‘most useful’, suggesting its various uses have been recognised for centuries (Kolodziejczyk & Fedec 1995). Interestingly research into its nutritional properties and effects on human health were not studied in earnest until the 1980s (Cunane & Thompson 1995). In Australia in 1981, cultivation of a low alpha-linolenic acid variety, now known as Linola, was pioneered in an attempt to improve the stability of the oil and increase its commercial viability as a cooking oil. Such modifications were successful and resulted in ALA content <3.0% and a higher concentration of linoleic acid than the naturally occurring form (Bhatty 1995). These modified oils are not used for medicinal purposes. Internationally it is accepted that ‘flaxseed’ refers to products for human consumption whereas ‘linseed oil’ refers to products that have been denatured, made unfit for human consumption, and used in commercial products, such as paints and varnishes.

Turmeric is a perennial herb, yielding a rhizome that produces a yellow powder that gives curry its characteristic yellow colour and is used to colour French mustard and the robes of Hindu priests. Turmeric was probably first cultivated as a dye, and then as a condiment and cosmetic. It is often used as an inexpensive substitute for saffron in cooking and in the 13th century Marco Polo marveled at its similarities to saffron. Both Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines use turmeric for the treatment of inflammatory and digestive disorders and turmeric has also been used in tooth powder or paste. Research has focused on turmeric’s antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial properties, in addition to its use in cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disorders (Anon 2001).