Producing Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: A Review of Sustainable Sources and Future Trends for the EPA and DHA Market: A review of sustainable sources and future trends for the EPA and DHA market

Laura Oliver*, Thomas Dietrich, Izaskun Marañón, Maria Carmen Villarán, Ramón J. Barrio

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

117 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega-3 PUFA) are recognized as being essential compounds for human nutrition and health. The human body generates only low levels of Omega-3 PUFA. Conventional sources of Omega-3 PUFA are from marine origin. However, the global growth of population combined with a better consumer understanding about healthy nutrition leads to the fact that traditional sources are exhausted and therefore not enough to satisfy the demand of Omega-3 PUFA for human diet as well as aquaculture. Microalgae cultivated under heterotrophic conditions is increasingly recognized as a suitable technology for the production of the Omega-3 PUFA. The high cost of using glucose as main carbon source for cultivation is the main challenge to establish economical feasible production processes. The latest relevant studies provide alternative pathways for Omega-3 PUFA production. As preliminary results show, volatile fatty acids (VFA) recovered from waste stream could be a good alternative to the use of glucose as carbon source in microalgae cultivation. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the actual situation of Omega-3 PUFA production, sources and market request to provide a summary on sustainable sources that are being investigated as well as present and future market trends in Omega-3 market.

Original languageEnglish
Article number148
Pages (from-to)1-15
Number of pages15
JournalResources
Volume9
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Dec 2020

Funding

The authors would like to thank the European project VOLATILE. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 720777.

FundersFunder number
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme720777

    Keywords

    • Docosahexaenoic acid
    • Heterotrophic microalgae
    • Market trends
    • Nutrition
    • Sustainable sources
    • Volatile fatty acid

    Project and Funding Information

    • Project ID
    • info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/720777/EU/Biowaste derived volatile fatty acid platform for biopolymers, bioactive compounds and chemical building blocks/VOLATILE
    • Funding Info
    • The authors would like to thank the European project VOLATILE. The project has received funding_x000D_from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 720777.

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