Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN2249-9598, Volume-IV, Issue-I, Jan-Feb 2014 www.oiirj.org ISSN 2249-9598 Page 220 Linum usitatissimum L. (Flaxseed)–A Multifarious Functional Food a Tawheed Amin, a Monika Thakur a Amity Institute of Food Technology, Amity University, Sector-125, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh 201303, India Corresponding author: Tawheed Amin Amity Institute of Food Technology, Amity University, Sector-125, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh 201303, India Flaxseed (Linumusitatissimum L.) is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops with evidence dating back thousands of years. Flaxseed is a premium food delivering high performance and is one of the richest sources of ω-3 fatty acids (α-linolenic acid) known to man. Whole flaxseed, flaxseed oil, lignan precursors, and its mucilage have many potential uses in the prevention or treatment of various diseases. Flaxseeds have been classified as functional food because it provides numerous health benefits in addition to serving as a source of nutrients.No doubt flaxseeds are beneficial in several ways but their consumption in excess amounts may result in some side effects such as allergies, oxidation/rancidity, increase in bleeding and bleeding time, elevation of blood sugar levels, deficiency of ω-6 fatty acids and psychological problems. They have also been considered as a good mood food. KEYWORDS:Flaxseed, ω-3, ω - 6 fatty acids, alpha linolenic acid, dietary fiber, lignans 1. Introduction Flaxseeds are scientifically known as Linumusitatissimum L and inLatinusitatissimum means ‘most useful’. It is a multi-farious crop (El-Beltagi, Salama, & El-Hariri, 2007) and is grown either for the production of oil or fiber(Diederichsen & Richards, 2003; Vaisey-Genser & Morris, 2003; Tour´e & Xueming, 2010). Flaxseed is also known as linseed and is thought to be one of the oldest cultivated crops with evidence of cultivation dating back thousands of years(Newkirk, 2008). Consumers are returning back to its use due to its multifarious health benefits. Flax is nature’s miraculous plant and cures our heart, blood, joints, colon, ageing, brain and even peace of mind. 2. Biology Flax plant has small, narrow leaves that are less than an inch long. Stems are branched near the base of plant (Figure 1A). The height of plant varies from 30 to 36 inches (Myers, 2002). Flowers are blue colored(Rubilar, Gutiérrez, Verdugu, Shene, & Sineiro, 2010). Flax seeds are flat and oval with pointed tip and their color varies from dark brown to yellow(Freeman, 1995) (Figure 1B). Flax seeds are of two basic varieties – yellow and golden - brown with almost similar nutritional values and equal amount of short chain Omega (ω) - 3 fatty acids. Abstract