Innovative dietary sources of n-3 fatty acids.
It is now established that dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are involved in health promotion and disease prevention, particularly those traditionally derived from marine sources (e.g., eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid). A number of organizations have made specific recommendations for the general population to increase their intakes of these nutrients. In response to and along with these recommendations, n-3 PUFAs are being incorporated into nontraditional food sources because of advances in the technology to safely enrich/fortify our food supply. Fatty acid compositions of traditional oils (e.g., canola and soybean) are being genetically modified to deliver more highly concentrated sources of n-3 PUFA. The advent of algal sources of docosahexaenoic acid provides one of the few terrestrial sources of this fatty acid in a concentrated form. All of this is possible because of newer technologies (microencapsulation) and improved processing techniques that ensure stability and preserve the integrity of these unstable fatty acids.
Whelan
Jay
J
Department of Nutrition, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1920, USA. jwhelan@utk.edu
Rust
Cheryl
C
D000818:Animals; D001709:Biotechnology; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005524:Food Technology; D005527:Food, Fortified; D030841:Food, Genetically Modified; D058870:Food, Organic; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007881:Legislation, Food; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3