Marine Mammal Oils

• Main Authors: Shahidi, Fereidoon, Zhong, HYing Joy, Tan, Zhuliang
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2020
• Subjects: Greenland; eskimo*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/047167849x.bio070.pub2; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/047167849X.bio070.pub2; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/047167849X.bio070.pub2

Abstract Marine oils are obtained from the flesh of fatty fish, liver of lean whitefish, and blubber of marine mammals. Lipids from marine fish have been used as food and medicine, and traditional uses of blubber lipids of marine mammals were mostly industrially oriented, except for Innus and Eskimos. Marine mammal oils were used as lubricants or “train” oils as well as fuel and used for lighting. Research findings on the importance of long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA) in human health have opened new channels for their value‐added use in food and pharmaceutical industries. During the last three decades, it has been established that Greenland Eskimos living on their traditional diet have a lower incidence of coronary heart disease than do Danes living on a western‐style diet. It has been recognized that PUFA could be useful in controlling serum triacylglycerols, but the fatty acids provided by the food industry were often of the Ω6 family. This article summarizes the current knowledge available on marine mammal oils with focus on seal and whale oils. It presents the lipid class, fatty acid compositions, and oxidative stability of marine mammal oils. The process, production of omega‐3 fatty acid concentrates, and application of common marine mammal oils are discussed. The health benefits and disease prevention properties of seal oils, especially the two unique ingredients, namely docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and long‐chain monounsaturated fatty acids, (LC‐MUFA) are reviewed. Finally, the fatty acid profile, position distribution, and health benefits of marine mammal oils are compared with those of fish oils.