Omega-3 breakthrough

BASF Plant Science is less than a decade away from producing commercial quantities of omega-3 DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) from rapeseed.

BASF has been pumping large amounts of cash into developing plant sources of the essential fatty acids ARA (arachidonic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), and DHA.

Currently, only ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), a shorter chain omega-3 that is less bioavailable for humans, is available on the market from plant sources. While longer chain DHA is available from microalgae, fish oil remains the primary source of EPA and DHA, raising concerns about sustainability.

The race is, therefore, on to find alternative sources by identifying the genes responsible for producing the enzymes that convert shorter chain omega-3 fatty acids (found in plants), into more bioavailable longer chain versions. While BASF had worked out the enzymatic steps involved in transforming EPA to DHA in rapeseed some time ago, the challenge had been to identify the rate limiting steps in the metabolic pathways that impacted the overall amounts of fatty acids produced, said BASF Plant Science project manager Dr Andy Beadle.

"We're at good levels [more than 10%] of ARA and EPA, but not there yet on DHA. Ideally, we need at least 10% DHA to be commercial.

"We're not there yet, but we'll get there. I envisage there would probably be a year's interval between each market introduction: ARA, followed by EPA, then DHA, then a mix of EPA and DHA."

Despite negative sentiments in Europe against genetic modification, consumers would accept transgenic rapeseed if they could see a nutritional benefit, claimed Beadle.