A researcher at the University of Moncton in New Brunswick is hoping to produce healthy oils similar to omega-3, but from local plants.
L’équipe de recherche développera des nutraceutiques, des produits spécialisés communément appelés suppléments alimentaires ou additifs nutritionnels, ainsi que des nouveaux ingrédients alimentaires bénéfiques pour la santé.
De nouveaux procédés seront élaborés pour la production de nouvelles huiles de graines oléagineuses avec des profils uniques d’acides gras polyinsaturés et la production à l’échelle commerciale de biopeptides dérivés des sous-produits de la transformation des fruits de mer.
La demande des consommateurs pour des produits contenant des acides gras
polyinsaturés ne cesse de croître, en partie en raison des reportages dans les médias sur les bienfaits pour la santé de certains gras.
The University’s full press release (in French) is here.
CBC.Ca has a story in English that outlines the project:
The federal government will invest $3 million in the project over the next five years through the Atlantic Innovation Fund.
Biochemist Marc Surette said the university laboratory wants to use Buglossoides arvensis, a plant that produces oily seeds, as a substitute for omega-3.
“The omega-3 fatty acids that you really want are found in fish oils,” Surette said. “The problem is that fish oils are becoming more and more scarce.”
If successful, the plant oil could eventually replace the omega-3 that comes from fish, Surette said. full story here
If it works, Surette hopes there’ll be a product on the market in a few years.
Thanks for posting the information on our research project.
My colleagues and I certainly feel that using vegatable oils as sources of omega-3 fatty acids will be more sustainable than to use fish as a source of these nutrients. Our plan is to also develop novel agricultural techniques to improve yields of the oils.
Marc Surette