Derisking the commercial opportunities associated with novel omega-3 foodstuffs

被称为EPA和DHA的omega-3脂肪对人类发育和健康非常重要。EPA和DHA是通过食用富含脂肪的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。限制这些建议有效性的主要障碍是不包括动物产品的饮食选择，对环境污染物污染的担忧，以及含油鱼类或鱼油补充剂的高昂成本。此外，海洋中没有足够的鱼来提供全球人们所需的所有EPA和DHA。此外，海水鱼类资源正在减少。因此，有必要找到一种可持续的来源，能够提供足够的EPA和DHA来满足对这些健康脂肪的需求。BBSRC赞助了这一开发，这是一种转基因的种子油料植物，可以制造EPA和DHA(植物通常不能这样做)。这种转基因植物生产的种子油含有与鱼油相似的EPA和DHA。因此，这种种子油有可能被用来取代富含脂肪的鱼和鱼油补充剂，成为人类可持续和廉价的EPA和DHA来源。申请者最近的一项研究测试了这种转基因植物的种子油是否与鱼油一样有效，作为人类饮食中EPA和DHA的来源。研究表明，无论参与者食用鱼油还是植物油，从一顿饭中吸收EPA和DHA的情况以及进入血液的量都是无法区分的。同样，当作为植物油食用2个月时，血液中EPA和DHA水平的增加基本上与作为鱼油食用时相同。此外，植物籽油改善心脏病的风险因素和生物标志物的程度与鱼油相似。食用这种植物种子油对健康没有不良影响。总而言之，这些发现表明，植物油与鱼油一样有效，可以作为人类饮食中EPA和DHA的来源，并且是一种潜在的安全、可持续和可扩展的替代方案，可以替代食用鱼油，解决了目前实现EPA和DHA建议摄入量的障碍。拟议的商业化前项目(Rothamsted Research的研究人员与雷丁大学和南安普顿大学的合作)将基于这些发现开发一种普通民众广泛消费的改良茶籽油强化食品。与将植物油作为膳食补充剂放在胶囊中相比，这种强化食品更有可能被纳入消费者的饮食。此外，这种方法与英国政府关于在食品中摄入EPA和DHA的建议是一致的。工作的第一阶段将涉及种植转基因植物，收获种子，以及提取和提纯种子油。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种子油进行强化。候选食品将接受消费者可接受性测试，主要是口感和质地，以及与当前商业产品相比的稳定性。被认为可以供人类食用的食物随后将在膳食补充研究中进行测试，以测试它们在提高血液中EPA和DHA水平方面的有效性，并评估与游离油相比，添加到食物中是否会改变这些脂肪酸的吸收。我们预计，该项目的发现将提供强有力的概念验证证据，证明使用改性茶籽油强化的食品是潜在的商业化产品，可以支持国家和全球健康。此外，这一结果也将为英国农业生产一种全球独一无二的作物提供机会。

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.