Results of major omega-3 study to be published

The results of a major new study looking at the cognitive effects of long chain omega-3 supplementation on 'mainstream' school children (without any diagnosed learning or behavioural disorders) should be published later this year.Initial results from the double-blinded, placebo-controlled six-month trial, which involved 236 six- to 12-year-olds from Middlesbrough, UK, were "very encouraging", said Dr Madeleine Portwood, an educational psychologist working on the trial.

"This will be key to answering questions about whether omega-3 supplementation can help so-called average or mainstream children as well as those with behavioural disorders like ADHD or dyspraxia."

It will also be key for supplement companies and food manufacturers keen to make health claims on products targeted at children - an area in which they have already clashed with advertising watchdogs in the UK.

Martek Biosciences, which produces the omega-3 fatty acid DHA from microalgae, had hoped a recent clinical trial with four-year-olds would provide definitive evidence to support the theory that DHA can assist memory, processing speed and error rates in so-called 'mainstream' school children.

However, the results proved inconclusive - largely because baseline scores achieved by the children in cognitive tests prior to supplementation were so high that demonstrating an improvement was virtually impossible.

Frustratingly for Martek, its application under article 14 of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation to make a health claim about DHA and arachidonic acid (ARA) and neural development in infants was also rejected by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last month.

While the science presented by the company was regarded as strong, only two of the studies that it had submitted as supporting evidence in its dossier were felt to be directly relevant to the target age group (infants aged six months to three years), said EFSA.

However, it acknowledged that the consumption of baby foods and infant formula supplemented with DHA and ARA from six months to one year of age "might have a beneficial effect on visual acuity maturation in infants breast-fed during the first four to six months of age"