Fatty Acid Profile of Vegan Omega-3 Food Supplements ^†

Abstract

Consumers’ current interest in vegan products strengthens the market growth for omega-3 fatty acid (FA) supplements from (micro)algae, offering all the benefits of a high dose of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, which are commonly considered to support normal vision, heart, and brain health and immunity, without the safety and sustainability concerns associated with fish oil. Of the three main omega-3 FA, terrestrial plants typically contain only alpha-linolenic (ALA). This study aimed to assess the FA profiles and quality indices of plant-based omega-3 supplements that are convenient for vegans and vegetarians. A total of 12 omega-3 supplements, 7 based on terrestrial plants and 5 based on algae, were subjected to GC-FID analysis of FA profiles, which were further used for the calculation of lipid quality indices. The findings confirmed the identity as well as the pivotal differences between the FA profiles of algae and terrestrial plants: EPA and DHA, which were abundantly present in algae supplements ((23.1 + 36.3)%; (3.3 + 72.2)%; 45.6; and 46.1% of DHA in Scizochytrium sp. microalgae), were absent from other plants. The opposite observation was recorded for ALA, which was present only in terrestrial plant supplements: maximum 45.8% in flaxseed, 38.5% in mixed flaxseed/primrose/olive/rice husk/sea buckthorn oil, 26.7% in the hemp/flaxseed/spirulina mixture, and 11.0% in black currant/soy oil, whereas evening primrose supplements contained 10% of γ-linolenic acid. The most beneficial polyunsaturated to saturated FA ratio was obtained for primrose oil (7.8), followed by black currant/soy (5.9), flaxseed (3.2), and hemp/flaxseed/spirulina (2.9), whereas in algae supplements, it ranged from 1.6 to 6.5. The hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic index varied from 7.2 in hemp to 12.2 in primrose and from 2.7 to 22.6 in the case of algae supplements. The atherogenicity (IA) and thrombogenicity (IT) indices of both terrestrial plant and algae supplements were favorably low (IA 0.1–0.2 and 0.4; IT 0.1–0.2 and 0.02–0.2), along with high unsaturation indices ranging from 170.9–188.6 to 304.3–469.8, respectively. Considering the limited ability of the human body to convert ALA to EPA and DHA, algae supplements seem to be a better choice for vegans and vegetarians.