Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential component for brain and visual acuity development during foetal and early postnatal life. A newly released directive under the European Commission stipulates DHA as a mandatory ingredient in infant formula. This poses challenges to manufacturers in preservi...

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Main Authors: Samaneh Ghasemi Fard, Su Peng Loh, Giovanni M. Turchini, Bo Wang, Glenn Elliott, Andrew J. Sinclair
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
Series:Nutrients
Subjects:
dha
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/1/248
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spelling doaj-ac2340125396448b8a30de1e756aaa7c2020-11-25T02:05:45ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432020-01-0112124810.3390/nu12010248nu12010248Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in ToddlersSamaneh Ghasemi Fard0Su Peng Loh1Giovanni M. Turchini2Bo Wang3Glenn Elliott4Andrew J. Sinclair5Nu-Mega Ingredients Pty Ltd., Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaDepartment of Nutrition & Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43300, Selangor, MalaysiaSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, AustraliaSchool of Behavioural and Health Science, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, NSW 2000, AustraliaNu-Mega Ingredients Pty Ltd., Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3168, AustraliaDocosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential component for brain and visual acuity development during foetal and early postnatal life. A newly released directive under the European Commission stipulates DHA as a mandatory ingredient in infant formula. This poses challenges to manufacturers in preserving the stability and bioavailability of DHA at levels akin to human breast milk. The aims of this study were (a) to investigate the bioavailability of microencapsulated omega-3 DHA formulations in healthy toddlers compared with high DHA fish oil for a one-month period and (b) to assess the effect of DHA supplementation on children’s sleep and cry patterns. Sixty toddlers were randomly allocated to four groups: 1. unfortified formula, 2. unfortified formula plus high DHA tuna oil, 3. fortified formula with dairy-based microencapsulated high DHA tuna oil powder, and 4. fortified formula with allergenic-free microencapsulated high DHA tuna oil powder. Bioavailability was assessed from both blood and faecal fatty acid levels. The results showed an enhanced bioavailability with significantly greater concentrations of blood DHA levels in formulas with microencapsulated powders. There were no significant effects of treatment on sleep and cry patterns. Application and delivery of microencapsulated DHA tuna oil powder in toddlers’ formula provided better bioavailability of the active DHA.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/1/248bioavailabilitymicroencapsulationtuna oilomega-3dhatoddlers
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Samaneh Ghasemi Fard
Su Peng Loh
Giovanni M. Turchini
Bo Wang
Glenn Elliott
Andrew J. Sinclair
spellingShingle Samaneh Ghasemi Fard
Su Peng Loh
Giovanni M. Turchini
Bo Wang
Glenn Elliott
Andrew J. Sinclair
Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers
Nutrients
bioavailability
microencapsulation
tuna oil
omega-3
dha
toddlers
author_facet Samaneh Ghasemi Fard
Su Peng Loh
Giovanni M. Turchini
Bo Wang
Glenn Elliott
Andrew J. Sinclair
author_sort Samaneh Ghasemi Fard
title Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers
title_short Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers
title_full Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers
title_fullStr Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers
title_full_unstemmed Microencapsulated Tuna Oil Results in Higher Absorption of DHA in Toddlers
title_sort microencapsulated tuna oil results in higher absorption of dha in toddlers
publisher MDPI AG
series Nutrients
issn 2072-6643
publishDate 2020-01-01
description Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential component for brain and visual acuity development during foetal and early postnatal life. A newly released directive under the European Commission stipulates DHA as a mandatory ingredient in infant formula. This poses challenges to manufacturers in preserving the stability and bioavailability of DHA at levels akin to human breast milk. The aims of this study were (a) to investigate the bioavailability of microencapsulated omega-3 DHA formulations in healthy toddlers compared with high DHA fish oil for a one-month period and (b) to assess the effect of DHA supplementation on children’s sleep and cry patterns. Sixty toddlers were randomly allocated to four groups: 1. unfortified formula, 2. unfortified formula plus high DHA tuna oil, 3. fortified formula with dairy-based microencapsulated high DHA tuna oil powder, and 4. fortified formula with allergenic-free microencapsulated high DHA tuna oil powder. Bioavailability was assessed from both blood and faecal fatty acid levels. The results showed an enhanced bioavailability with significantly greater concentrations of blood DHA levels in formulas with microencapsulated powders. There were no significant effects of treatment on sleep and cry patterns. Application and delivery of microencapsulated DHA tuna oil powder in toddlers’ formula provided better bioavailability of the active DHA.
topic bioavailability
microencapsulation
tuna oil
omega-3
dha
toddlers
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/1/248
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