Omega-3 vs. ALA

[Crack Baby]

I've been on a omega-3 trip, convinced that these essential
fatty acids can cure everything from heart disease to
insanity. Anyway, my goal is to find a way to provide a cheap
and safe plant source of omega-3's, and flaxseed oil provides
a potential source IF the enzyme needed to convert it into DHA
and EPA can be produced synthetically.

While Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) is the precursor for DHA and
EPA, it requires the enzyme Delta-6-Desaturase (D6D) and
humans have very low levels of this enzyme. Consequently, flax
and other ALA sources don't provide much omega-3's, despite
the commercial hype. Fish oil provides plenty of omega-3's,
but not only is the world's supply of fish rapidly dwindling,
most fish are contaminated with heavy metals and toxic
chemicals like PCBs. I believe there is some algae that
produces the omega-3's that accumulate in the fish, but they
are not as practical to produce as flax. A synthetic D6D would
make all the existing flax products on the market so much more
effective.

I haven't a clue on how to manufacture D6D, but it would seem
there is an incentive to develop an efficient manufacturing
process, as it would greatly increase the value of flax oil.

[Matti Nark]

On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:41:33 GMT, crack baby
<crack@backdoho.net> wrote:

>I've been on a omega-3 trip, convinced that these essential
>fatty acids can cure everything from heart disease to
>insanity. Anyway, my goal is to find a way to provide a cheap
>and safe plant source of omega-3's, and flaxseed oil provides
>a potential source IF the enzyme needed to convert it into
>DHA and EPA can be produced synthetically.
>
>While Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) is the precursor for DHA and
>EPA, it requires the enzyme Delta-6-Desaturase (D6D) and
>humans have very low levels of this enzyme. Consequently,
>flax and other ALA sources don't provide much omega-3's,
>despite the commercial hype. Fish oil provides plenty of
>omega-3's, but not only is the world's supply of fish rapidly
>dwindling, most fish are contaminated with heavy metals and
>toxic chemicals like PCBs. I believe there is some algae that
>produces the omega-3's that accumulate in the fish, but they
>are not as practical to produce as flax. A synthetic D6D
>would make all the existing flax products on the market so
>much more effective.
>
>I haven't a clue on how to manufacture D6D, but it would seem
>there is an incentive to develop an efficient manufacturing
>process, as it would greatly increase the value of flax oil.

I doubt that that enzymes will survive intact in digestive
tract and manufacturing them could prove to be _very_
challenging. More realistic approaches to vegetarian long
chain omega-3s are algae derived DHA and EPA, which are
available today:

<http://www.water4.net/products.htm> <http://www.veganessenti-
als.com/catalog/o-mega-zen3-vegan-dha-supplement-by-nutru.htm>
<http://www.veganstore.co.uk/deva_omega3.html>
<http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/omega_zen.html>
<http://www.prleap.com/pr_29476.html> <http://www.martekbio.c-
om/Nutritional_Products/Distributors_Of_Neuromins_DHA.asp>

--
Matti Narkia

[monty1945]

You might want to read the essay on fish oil at my site,
http://groups.msn.com/TheScientificDebateForum-

It may change your attitude, and more importantly, save
your life.

[Crack Baby]

Matti Narkia wrote...
> crack baby wrote...
>> I haven't a clue on how to manufacture D6D, but it would
>> seem there is an incentive to develop an efficient
>> manufacturing process, as it would greatly increase the
>> value of flax oil.
>
>
> I doubt that that enzymes will survive intact in digestive
> tract and manufacturing them could prove to be _very_
> challenging. More realistic approaches to vegetarian long
> chain omega-3s are algae derived DHA and EPA, which are
> available today:

I was thinking of splicing the D6D gene into a yeast or
bacteria. And the enzyme could be added to flax and other
ALA-containing oils to break it down prior to ingestion. I
also remember reading that fish get their omega-3's from some
type of algae, so cultivating that might work, though an
engineered yeast has the advantage of not requiring light. Or
just splice the algae gene for omega-3 into yeast, and every
loaf of bread in America becomes a rich source of the
substance.


> <http://www.water4.net/products.htm> <http://www.veganessen-
> tials.com/catalog/o-mega-zen3-vegan-dha-supplement-by-nutru-
> .htm> <http://www.veganstore.co.uk/deva_omega3.html>
> <http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/omega_zen.html>
> <http://www.prleap.com/pr_29476.html> <http://www.martekbio-
> .com/Nutritional_Products/Distributors_Of_Neuromins_DHA.asp

[Ron Peters]

crack baby wrote:
> I've been on a omega-3 trip, convinced that these essential
> fatty acids can cure everything from heart disease to
> insanity. Anyway, my goal is to find a way to provide a
> cheap and safe plant source of omega-3's, and flaxseed oil
> provides a potential source IF the enzyme needed to convert
> it into DHA and EPA can be produced synthetically.

There is a publicly traded company (Martek) that is producing
DHA from algae and they are marketing it to baby formula
manufacturers.

For personal use, refined fish oil is more economical. I think
that it makes sense to consume ALA because of its lower cost
despite it's not being as effective as EPA and DHA.

--
Ron

[David R. T]

In article <hs1Dg.76$q63.6@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com>, crack
baby <crack@backdoho.net> wrote:

>I was thinking of splicing the D6D gene into a yeast or
>bacteria.

There's already a lot of research money going into this.
They've already put the D6D into pigs and are producing
EPA/DHA rich pork. As for putting it into bread yeast -
realize that EPA and DHA are very heat sensitive and go
rancid easily.

See my comments in the other Omega 3 thread (in s.m.n) about
purslane as a source of EPA. Of those who want their Omega 3
from non-meat sources, there's a fairly sizable contingent
out there who won't purchase any thing made with recombinent
technology either. But if you could breed a high EPA plant
using conventional plant breeding technology, that ought to
be winner.

To follow the GM technology for omega 3, go to fatsoflife.com
and check out the abck issues. They've got a section on it in
almost every quarterly issue.

DRT

followups set

[Marshall P]

crack baby wrote:
> While Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA)...

That's not the usual abbreviation. It can be mistaken for
alpha-linoleic acid or alpha-lipoic (a/k/a thioctic) acid.

--
Marshall Price of Miami Known to Yahoo as d021317c

[Matti Nark]

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 22:17:25 GMT, Marshall Price
<d021317c@yahoo.com> wrote:

>crack baby wrote:
>> While Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA)...
>
>That's not the usual abbreviation.

It is the most commonly used abbreviation for alpha-linolenic
acid. The other one is LNA, but it's not used as often as ALA.

>It can be mistaken for alpha-linoleic acid or alpha-lipoic
>(a/k/a thioctic) acid.

What is alpha-linoleic acid? There is linoleic acid (LA), but
I have never heard of alpha-linoleic acid.

Alpha-lipoic acid is often abbreviated also as ALA and
sometimes as LA, so these abbreviations could potentially be
confused with alpha-linolenic acid or linoleic acid, but
usually the meaning is obvious from the context.

--
Matti Narkia

[Marshall P]

Matti Narkia wrote:
> What is alpha-linoleic acid?

A misnomer I came across in _The Perricone Prescription_ by
Nicholas Perricone, MD. Admittedly a stretch. ;-)

--
Marshall Price of Miami Known to Yahoo as d021317c