The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) advances intake of all sources of EPA and DHA to support health outcomes.
And as microalgal omega-3 oils (often referred to as algal oils) become increasingly available and front-of-mind with consumers, the organization has compiled a position statement for its members outlining the key differences between the main sources.
Efficacy and impact in the body
The experts explained that the source of the EPA or DHA does not matter in terms of efficacy, while the differences in oil composition and formulation do, as they could be part of a marketing story for brands.
“The gut does not discriminate the origin of the triglyceride (or other lipid type) containing EPA and DHA; it will digest EPA- and DHA-containing lipids, liberate EPA and DHA, and absorb it,” the paper explained.
“Differences in the rate of digestion and absorption may contribute to measurable differences in short term bioavailability, but over the long term, these differences in bioavailability disappear.”
Are algal oils ‘plant-based’?
With ‘plant-based’ being a popular on-pack claim across the health and nutrition category, many brands are looking to add this to their packaging. However, GOED warned that though plants are multicellular organisms, microalgae are unicellular organisms and are not technically plants and referring to them as such can lead to consumer confusion.
“Although microalgae can grow under photosynthetic conditions, often microalgal oils are extracted from microalgae grown under fermentation conditions,” the paper noted. Therefore, from a strictly technical point of view, microalgal omega-3 oils are not plant-based and should be characterized as ‘of microbial origin’.
The authors added that marketing of microbial omega-3 oils often includes images of macroalgae (i.e. seaweed), which is not used at commercial scale to produce EPA/DHA-rich omega-3 oils and can lead to consumer confusion.
“It is also worth noting that marketing a microalgal oil as plant-based may result in confusion with true plant-based oils (e.g. flaxseed oil), which are rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), but do not contain EPA and DHA,” they wrote.
The term ‘plant-based’ is also correctly used in reference to genetically modified crops like canola and camelina.
GOED clarified that it is still appropriate to promote microalgae as part of a vegan or vegetarian diet.
In terms of which is more sustainable, GOED’s position is that all EPA and DHA sources can be responsible if they are handled and processed properly.
Scientific backing
The paper noted that most of the research on the nutritional and clinical benefits of EPA and DHA omega-3s to date has been conducted using refined fish oils and omega-3 ethyl ester concentrates made from refined fish oil—representing more than 90% of the human interventional studies to date.
However, where experimental design, dosage, etc. are equal, because EPA and DHA are chemically identical among the different sources and forms, results from research using fish oil can be compared to results from research using microalgal oil, GOED explained.
That said, other factors such as composition (e.g. minor fatty acids, vitamins, secondary metabolites), dose and dietary behaviors should be considered before generalizing results between or among studies.