Derisking the commercial opportunities associated with novel omega-3 foodstuffs

消除与新型 omega-3 食品相关的商业机会的风险

• 批准号: BB/V003631/1
• 负责人: Johnathan Napier
• 金额: $ 82.25万
• 依托单位: Rothamsted Research
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FV003631%2F1
• 关键词: Derisking; commercial; opportunities; associated; novel

Omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA are important for human development and health. EPA and DHA are obtained from the diet by eating fatty fish or taking fish oil supplements. The UK government recommends that people consume EPA and DHA daily in order to maintain health. However, most people consume much less than the recommended amount. The main barriers that limit the effectiveness of the recommendations are dietary choices that exclude animal products, concerns about contamination with environmental pollutants and the high cost of oily fish or fish oil supplements. Also, there are not enough fish in the sea to provide all the EPA and DHA that people need globally. Moreover, marine fish stocks are declining. Therefore, there is a need to find a sustainable source that can provide enough EPA and DHA to meet the needs for these healthy fats. The BBSRC has sponsored the development a genetically modified variety of the seed oil plant Camelina sativa that can make EPA and DHA (plants cannot usually do this). The seed oil produced by this genetically modified plant contains similar amounts of EPA and DHA to fish oils. Therefore, it is possible that this seed oil could be used to replace fatty fish and fish oil supplements as a sustainable and inexpensive source of EPA and DHA for humans. A recent study by the applicants tested whether the seed oil from this genetically modified plant was as effective as fish oil as a source of EPA and DHA in the human diet. The study showed that the absorption of EPA and DHA from a meal and how much got into blood was indistinguishable whether when participants consumed fish oil or the plant seed oil. Similarly, the increase in EPA and DHA levels in blood when consumed as the plant seed oil for 2 months was essentially the same as when consumed as fish oil. Moreover, the plant seed oil improved risk factors and biomarkers of heart disease by a similar extent to fish oil. There were no adverse health effects from consuming the plant seed oil. Together these findings show that the plant seed oil is as effective as fish oil as a source of EPA and DHA in the human diet and a potentially safe, sustainable and scalable alternative to consuming oil from fish that addresses the current barriers to achieving recommended EPA and DHA intakes. The proposed pre-commercialisation project (a collaboration between researchers at Rothamsted Research, and the Universities of Reading and Southampton) will build on these findings to develop a modified Camelina seed oil fortified food that is consumed widely by the general population. Such a fortified food is more likely to be incorporated into the diet of consumers compared to giving the plant seed oil as a dietary supplement in capsules. Moreover, this approach is consistent with the UK government recommendations to consume EPA and DHA in food. The first phase of the work will involve growing the genetically modified plant, harvesting the seed, and extracting and purifying the seed oil. The second phase of the project will test a range of widely consumed foods, such as margarines, for their suitability for fortification with the plant seed oil. Candidate foods will be tested for consumer acceptability, primarily taste and texture, and stability compared to current commercial products. Foods that are considered to be acceptable for human consumption will then be tested in a dietary supplementation study to test their effectiveness in increasing EPA and DHA levels in blood and to assess whether incorporation into a food modifies the absorption of these fatty acids compared to the free oil. We expect that the findings of this project will provide strong proof-of-concept evidence that foods which are fortified with modified Camelina seed oil are potentially commercialisable products that can support national and global health. Furthermore, the results will also represent an opportunity for UK agriculture to produce a globally unique crop.

Omega-3脂肪称为EPA和DHA，对人体发育和健康很重要。EPA和DHA是通过吃脂肪鱼或服用鱼油补充剂从饮食中获得的。英国政府建议人们每天摄入EPA和DHA以保持健康。然而，大多数人的摄入量远远低于推荐量。限制建议有效性的主要障碍是排除动物产品的饮食选择，对环境污染物污染的担忧以及油性鱼类或鱼油补充剂的高成本。此外，海洋中没有足够的鱼类来提供全球人们所需的所有EPA和DHA。此外，海洋鱼类资源正在减少。因此，需要找到一种可持续的来源，可以提供足够的EPA和DHA来满足对这些健康脂肪的需求。 BBSRC赞助开发一种转基因的亚麻荠种子油植物，可以产生EPA和DHA（植物通常不能这样做）。这种转基因植物生产的籽油含有与鱼油相似的EPA和DHA含量。因此，这种种子油可以用来取代脂肪鱼和鱼油补充剂，作为人类EPA和DHA的可持续和廉价来源。申请人最近的一项研究测试了这种转基因植物的籽油作为人类饮食中EPA和DHA的来源是否与鱼油一样有效。研究表明，无论参与者食用鱼油还是植物籽油，从膳食中吸收的EPA和DHA以及进入血液的数量都无法区分。同样，当作为植物籽油食用2个月时，血液中EPA和DHA水平的增加与作为鱼油食用时基本相同。此外，植物籽油改善了心脏病的风险因素和生物标志物，其程度与鱼油相似。食用植物籽油对健康没有不良影响。这些研究结果表明，植物籽油作为人类饮食中EPA和DHA的来源与鱼油一样有效，并且是一种潜在的安全，可持续和可扩展的鱼油替代品，可以解决目前实现推荐EPA和DHA摄入量的障碍。 拟议的预商业化项目（Rothamsted Research的研究人员与阅读大学和南安普顿大学的合作）将基于这些发现开发一种被普通人群广泛消费的改性亚麻荠籽油强化食品。与将植物籽油作为胶囊中的膳食补充剂相比，这种强化食品更有可能被纳入消费者的饮食中。此外，这种方法与英国政府建议在食物中摄入EPA和DHA的建议一致。第一阶段的工作将包括种植转基因植物，收获种子，提取和纯化种子油。该项目的第二阶段将测试一系列广泛消费的食品，如人造黄油，以确定它们是否适合用植物籽油强化。候选食品将测试消费者的可接受性，主要是味道和质地，以及与当前商业产品相比的稳定性。然后，在膳食补充剂研究中对被认为可供人类食用的食物进行测试，以测试它们在增加血液中EPA和DHA水平方面的有效性，并评估与游离油相比，掺入食物是否会改变这些脂肪酸的吸收。 我们预计，该项目的研究结果将提供强有力的概念验证证据，证明用改性亚麻荠籽油强化的食品是可以支持国家和全球健康的潜在商业化产品。此外，这些结果也将为英国农业提供一个生产全球独特作物的机会。