Microalgae Oil for Omega 3 and other Nutraceuticals

The Neutraceutical (Nutrition + Pharmaceutical) Industry is growing very rapidly. Neutraceuticals are being used as complementary and alternative therapies in treatment of diseases.

This industry is worth $86 billion dollars (2011, Algae Color of the Future).

One set of Neutraceuticals that hold much interest are Omega 3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA).
PUFAs from algae and fish oils, especially eicopentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been shown to play a role in the possible prevention and treatment of several chronic diseases.

Micro-algae production systems such as specialized photo-bioreactors hold much promise to produce large quantities of these products. Fish oil has been deemed unsustainable and algae oil is considered as a plausible replacement of fish oil. It is also known that the relationship between DHA and EPA in algae oil can be more balanced.

To be continued...