Assessment of the Relative Absorbability of Orally Dosed Whole Marine Oils and A Standard, Processed 18/12 Omega-3 Oil: Does Nature Know Best?
Research Article
Article Title: Assessment of the Relative Absorbability of Orally Dosed Whole Marine Oils and A Standard, Processed 18/12 Omega-3 Oil: Does Nature Know Best?
Author: Crawford Currie*, Christian Bjerknes and Bomi Framroze
The typical western diet falls significantly short of the level of omega-3s needed to help support good health and wellbeing. Fish oil supplementation has become a popular way of addressing this shortfall with the majority of supplementation consumed in the form of 18/12 processed omega-3 oil, i.e., oil with 18% EPA and 12% DHA. However, the omega-3 in these processed oils is mostly in the form of ethyl ester (EE) rather than the natural triglyceride (TG) and phospholipid (PL) form. EE fats are harder for the gut to absorb which could significantly impact their bioavailability and their overall health benefits. A C57BL/6 dietinduced obesity (DIO) mouse model was used to assess the absorption of two marine oils, OmeGo, a whole fish oil gently released from fresh Norwegian salmon offcuts and krill oil, a processed, 18/12 omega-3 oil and a control group that received no treatment. From baseline (day 0) to end of study (day 7) the marine oils significantly increased serum DHA and EPA levels. This increase was two to four times greater than with processed 18/12 omega-3 oil whilst control animals showed a small decline in serum omega-3 levels. This suggests that natural marine oils are significantly more bioavailable than processed oils and therefore more likely to deliver health benefits akin to eating fresh fish. A follow-on study is planned to assess doseresponse in terms of serum omega-3 levels and associated health benefits attained with natural marine oils compared to processed 18/12 concentrated oils.