The Flax Council of Canada, Manitoba, Canada, and Glanbia Nutritionals, Fitchburg, Wis., are making available an extensive, updated flax research database for human health and nutrition. With scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of flax and its constituents expanding at a rapid pace, this valuable resource enables the industry, health professionals and the scientific community to keep up with the increasing volume of information. Updating of the database was made possible through funding from Glanbia Nutritionals.

"We are very pleased to partner with Glanbia on the development and update of the research database,” says William Hill, president of the Flax Council of Canada, “Since Glanbia has committed to sponsoring the independent updating of the site on a monthly basis, we can ensure that the information is current and relevant to the industry.”

A versatile crop, flax has Omega-3 fatty acids and other nutritional benefits that have made flax seed and oil popular food ingredients for people of all ages. With growing consumer interest comes increased research scrutiny.

The database includes only peer-reviewed publications available on commonly used scientific search sites. Since its last update in mid-2009, nearly 160 new publications have been released. Most focus on human clinical trials and include health and disease reduction research, analytical assessments, food formulation, and review articles.

“The Flax Council’s Research Database is the industry’s most comprehensive portal for all flax related research,” says Robert Beausire, vice president of business development at Glanbia Nutritionals. “The database fills a gap in the conversation by offering hundreds of papers on the health benefits of flaxseed. It is a tremendous resource for developers and marketers.”

Papers appear under a number of categories to enable quick and accurate searches to capture relevant publications of interest.

The Flax Research Database can be accessed at http://flaxcouncil.ca/english/index.jsp?p=abstractsearch&mp=databases&categoryId=1