Scientists Develop ‘Bioforitifed’ Canola
Scientists at Dow AgroSciences have reportedly developed a canola seed that results in a plant that produces docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), the two long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids normally found in fish.
Already a multi-billion dollar crop known for its healthy oil content, canola produces an unsaturated fat that the Food and Drug Administration suggests, “that eating about 1 ½ tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in canola oil.”
However, despite these health benefits, canola oil does not contain fatty acids. But, just one tablespoon of oil from the newly developed ‘biofortified’ variety of canola provides more than the daily recommended amount of Omega-3s.
Not only providing a source of beneficial omega-3s for vegetarians and those with restricted diets, cultivating canola plants as a source of omega-3s could also reduce the ecological pressure on the farmed fish industry, which must feed fish oil to their fish in order for them to accumulate the fatty acids normally acquired from microalgae in the wild.
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