• Main Author: Baoxiu Qi
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: Greenland; eskimo*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.694.3740; http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2004/artspdf/jul0403.pdf

Recently, the importance of fish and fish oils in the diet has become significantly more recognized. It is known that they play very important roles in human health and nutrition and are important building blocks in neonatal retinal and brain development, as well as being important factors in cardiovascular health and disease preven-tion1-2. The active ingredients in fish and fish oils are omega-3 very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5 ω-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 ω−3). The realization of their importance started in the 1970s from the epidemiological finding that Greenland Eskimos only had one-eighth of the fatal coronary heart disease of Eskimos who lived in Denmark. The reason is that the Greenland Eskimos have a traditional ‘marine ’ diet rich in very long chain ω-3 PUFAs. The diet of most modern societies is nowadays relatively low in ω3 PUFAs with a concomitant increased level of ω6 PUFAs intake, largely resulting from a preference for plant-seed oils and food products from intensively bred animals. In addition, some communities do not have access to fish supplies, due to geographic or economic reasons; some people are allergic to fish, others choose not to eat fish because of their vegetarian life style. Global fish stocks are declining due to general overfishing and overly efficient fishing methods, and the oils derived from fish are sometimes contaminated with a range of pollutants, heavy metals, and toxins. Therefore, alternative sources of these VLCPUFAs are clearly desirable, and the concept of obtaining them from higher