Algae BioSciences, an Arizona-based biotechnology company now completing a $5-million, first-phase expansion process, will soon begin commercial production of its ultra-pure omega-3 fatty acid oils. The oils will be sourced from marine algae and grown in Arizona sunlight, at the company’s production facilities in the high desert plains near Holbrook.
The initial output of AlgaeBio’s algal oils – which will be packaged for consumers by Global Health Trax (GHT) as AlgaeBio Omega-3 Origins™, and made available in both adult and child dosages – will contain long-chain essential fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA.
Because these marine algae are cultured through photosynthesis, AlgaeBio Omega-3 Origins™ will also include beneficial compounds such as phytosterols, chlorophyll, Vitamins C, D, and E, and the carotenoids beta-carotene, lutein, fucoxanthin, and zeaxanthin. And because they are algae-based, the oils will contain higher ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) values, gram for gram, than nearly any land-based foods.
AlgaeBio and GHT, of Vista, Calif., have in place a sales and distribution contract that gives GHT exclusive rights to purchase and distribute AlgaeBio’s oils to the nutraceutical, food additive, and animal feed markets.
Thanks to some recent scientific research, the public can now be certain that these vegetarian-based polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are as effective as fish-based omega-3s in providing health benefits.
Researchers involved in three independent studies focusing on pregnancy and infancy, all of them using algae-sourced docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), reported beneficial results when they presented their findings late last month at the 10th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) in Vancouver.
Read more in the t July 4, 2012 issue fo AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com