Chia seed oil composition and effects in lab tests
What it found
In lab tests, Mexican chia seed oil was mostly polyunsaturated fat and lowered triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in liver cells.
It showed only mild antioxidant activity.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Antioxidant activity
In test-tube assays, the oil showed mild antioxidant capacity compared with tocopherol and catechin. It had the lowest radical scavenging ability among several common oils.
Fat lowering in cells
In HepG2 liver cells loaded with oleic acid, chia seed oil at 500 μg/mL lowered triglycerides by 25.8% and LDL cholesterol by 72.9%, and increased HDL cholesterol. It did not reduce total cholesterol.
Other findings
Fatty acid makeup
The oil was mostly polyunsaturated fat (89.84% of total lipids). Alpha-linolenic acid was the most abundant fatty acid at 63.64%, followed by linoleic acid at 19.84%.
Triglycerides and sterols
The main triglyceride was trilinolenin, making up 53.44% of total triglycerides. Beta-sitosterol was the most abundant sterol, accounting for more than 81% of total sterols.
Trace elements and PAHs
Aluminum was the most abundant trace element at 4.104 mg/kg. Arsenic was found at 0.014 mg/kg, and the total PAH level was 41.06 μg/kg, higher than in sunflower oil but lower than in soybean oil.
What the authors conclude
“This is the first study to report the ability of CSO to reduce the levels of hepatic TG and LDL-C markedly, and increase the content of HDL-C in HepG2 cell model.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say chia seed oil may help reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease and can be used as cooking oil and in healthy food supplements.
- They advise that raw chia seeds might need special treatment during collection, processing, storage and transportation to prevent oxidation and maintain oil quality.
- They note that this is the first study to report the ability of chia seed oil to lower hepatic triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol in a HepG2 cell model.
How it was done
The authors wanted to fill gaps in knowledge about the chemical makeup of chia seed oil from Mexico, including its minor components, and to check its antioxidant and lipid-lowering effects.
They extracted oil from chia seeds grown in Mexico and analysed its fatty acids, triglycerides, tocopherols, sterols, trace elements and PAHs. They also tested its antioxidant capacity in test tubes and its effects on fat accumulation in HepG2 liver cells.
What it can’t tell you
- These are lab tests in cells and test tubes. They can't show what happens in people.
- The study did not test chia seed oil in animals or in people, so its effects on health in real life are not known from this work.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation; Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Guangdong Province; National Natural Science Foundation of China (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- There is no conflict of interest recorded for this work.
- Authors work at
- Jinan University, China; Jiangnan University, China; Shenzhen Kivita Innovative Drug Discovery Institute, China
The paper
- Title
- Phytochemical and Biological Characteristics of Mexican Chia Seed Oil
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Shen Y, Zheng L, Jin J, et al (2018). Phytochemical and Biological Characteristics of Mexican Chia Seed Oil. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/molecules23123219Free full textPubMed 30563201DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error