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Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Food and Pharma: The Enabling Role of Biotechnology

  • Nutrition (William S. Harris, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Omega-3 fatty acid research, which began as an epidemiologic curiosity, has generated perhaps the strongest dataset for any nutrient in regard to cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Although once a relatively descriptive field, advances in analytic techniques have opened up the biochemistry of omega-3 fatty acids and nutritional genomics in plants and man and have taken the field into the “omic” era. Despite this progress, fundamental questions remain unanswered, such as which fatty acid or metabolite thereof drives a given health benefit, how much of a given fatty acid should we consume, and how do we best source the requisite fatty acids? Of these questions, the ability to source omega-3 fatty acids in order to meet dietary guidelines has become a practical concern. The advent of novel oils from plants and single cell organisms as enabled by biotechnology may provide a solution to this problem and in the process open up new uses for omega-3 fatty acids in dietary supplements and drugs.

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Disclosures

P.J. Gillies holds patents on the use of omega-3 fatty acids derived from yeast, which he invented while an employee of the E.I. DuPont Company. W.S. Harris is a Senior Vice President at Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., which offers blood omega-3 fatty acid testing clinically, and is the owner of OmegaQuant, LLC, which performs such testing for academic and clinical researchers. P.M. Kris-Etherton was a co-investigator on a research grant funded by GlaxoSmithKline to evaluate cardiovascular effects of Lovaza. She is a board member of the California Walnut Commission, MonaVie, Campbell Soup, Unilever, and Abunda, and her institution has received grants from the Peanut Institute, General Mills, the Almond Board of California & Hershey Foods, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, and the Haas Avocado Board.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 63 Dudley Road, Suite 122, New Brunswick, NJ, 0890, USA

    Peter J. Gillies

  2. OmegaQuant, LLC, 2329 N Career Ave, Suite 113, Sioux Falls, SD, 57107, USA

    William S. Harris

  3. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Penny M. Kris-Etherton

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  1. Peter J. Gillies
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Correspondence to Peter J. Gillies.

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Gillies, P.J., Harris, W.S. & Kris-Etherton, P.M. Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Food and Pharma: The Enabling Role of Biotechnology. Curr Atheroscler Rep 13, 467–473 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-011-0206-z

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