Page 1 of 2
By Andrés Ross Burrows , technical director SPES SA, Santiago de Chile, Chile
Day by day consumers are getting increasingly interested in functional foods as an alternative to increase their health and wellbeing. To fulfil this demand there has been a huge development in the area of functional foods, meaning products that not only provide the classical nutrients but also contain other substances of healthy benefit. Among these substances are EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid), both Omega-3 essentials fatty acids.These fatty acids have proven to reduce cardiac diseases, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides plasmatic levels, they also enhance the immune status and regulate inflammatory response, and through their structural-functional role in central nervous system development, growth and ageing affects neurotransmission and neuronal growth and survival, thus having a role in behaviour and cognitive function.
Incorporated in diet
As Omega-3 fatty acids cannot be synthesised d-novo by mammalian individuals they must be incorporated in our diet. EPA and DHA are found only on marine sources; even when vegetables sources contains the Omega 3 alfa-linolenic acid (ALA), this molecule is much shorter and has to be elongated and desaturated to become DHA, a process that is quite inefficient because most of ALA is an energetic substrate.
As Omega-3 fatty acids cannot be synthesised d-novo by mammalian individuals they must be incorporated in our diet. EPA and DHA are found only on marine sources; even when vegetables sources contains the Omega 3 alfa-linolenic acid (ALA), this molecule is much shorter and has to be elongated and desaturated to become DHA, a process that is quite inefficient because most of ALA is an energetic substrate.
Here lies the problem, since the actual consumption of fish and marine derivative-meals has been dramatically reduced by an occidental diet with common cooking vegetable oils and processed foods with little or no EPA-DHA Omega-3 fatty acids, resulting in an unhealthy imbalance; in fact the FAO/WHO expert consultation recommend that individuals with a deficiency in n-3 fatty acids should be encouraged, if possible, to consume more n-3 PUFA-rich foods such as fish and other seafood.
Alternative approaches
It is well known that many vegetable sources also provide Omega-3 fatty acids, but short chain fatty acids. Those fatty acids should be elongated and desaturated to EPA and further DHA, but the fat conversion to these long chain fatty acids is reported to be very inefficient reaching approximately 6% for EPA and 3.8% DHA; with a diet rich in Omega 6 fatty acids, such as vegetables, this amount is further reduced by 40-50%. Fish oil is the best source of long chain Omega-3 fatty acids, but it is not the main source of consumption since it is not available for every person due to costs.
It is well known that many vegetable sources also provide Omega-3 fatty acids, but short chain fatty acids. Those fatty acids should be elongated and desaturated to EPA and further DHA, but the fat conversion to these long chain fatty acids is reported to be very inefficient reaching approximately 6% for EPA and 3.8% DHA; with a diet rich in Omega 6 fatty acids, such as vegetables, this amount is further reduced by 40-50%. Fish oil is the best source of long chain Omega-3 fatty acids, but it is not the main source of consumption since it is not available for every person due to costs.
Thus alternative approaches have been made to modify fatty acid composition of natural foodstuff; by increasing the amounts of fish oils in the diet of laying hens and broilers, a substantial amount of EPA and DHA were incorporated into eggs and meat, and the most important thing: without the organoleptic problems in the final product, since the refining, deodorisation and stabilisation of these commercial products allows to overcome those problems.
Page 1 of 2 | Next Page »
Source: World Poultry, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2011
