Development of plant based alternative to Emu oil

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Avaria Health and Beauty Corporation, a canadian company based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a manufacturer of therapeutic and cosmetic products. Some of their more successful products contain emu oil. Emu oil is oil derived from adipose tissue harvested from certain subspecies of the emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae, a flightless bird indigenous to Australia. The supply of emu oil is limited, the demand is high and thus Avaria is facing an immediate shortage of this important input for their products. Avaria would like to develop a vegetable oil based oil that resembles emu oil closely. Attempts to date have been unsuccessful, mainly due to a non-molecular approach to the problem. Avaria is seeking help from the Food, Health and Aging laboratory, lead by CRC Chair A.G. Marangoni at the University of Guelph, to develop such replacement. The FHA is one of the leading laboratories in the world in the materials science of lipids, triaclylglycerols in particular. Here we propose to characterize the triacylglycerol composition of the emu oil and match using specific combinations of fats an oils. Most approaches to data have relied on "experience" to create such blends or just fatty acid compositions. The trick is in matching molecular species, i.e., specific triacylglycerol structures. This will almost guarantee that the proper melting, rheological and sensorial properties will be matched. The FHA laboratory is well -equipped to carry out such physical and chemical characterizations. There are several oil combinations that we have predicted will do the job; this project will confirm our predictions. This will also form the basis of a matrix that can be used to substitute different oils to achieve the same goal. In this way, Avaria can maximize returns, minimize input costs, while maintaining the same molecular composition and properties. The project will be completed within the allotted six months.