Development of a natural product rich in bioavailable OMEGA-3 DHA and EPA using locally available ingredients in Tanzania
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Date
2020-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
NM-AIST
Abstract
Poor mental health remains a serious public concern worldwide. The most vulnerable
individuals are children and adolescents in developing countries. Nutritional deficiency of
Omega-3 DHA and EPA has long been recognized as a major contributing factor for mental
health illnesses. Provision of ready-to-use natural product rich in preformed Omega-3 DHA
could address this problem. However, most commonly used products are expensive and
contain less or no preformed Omega-3 DHA, making them less suitable for prevention of
mental illnesses in resource-poor countries. The main objective of this study was to develop a
natural product rich in preformed Omega-3 DHA and EPA from locally available
ingredients. Linear programming (LP) was used to formulate a natural product rich in
preformed Omega-3 DHA and other essential nutrients using locally available ingredients
other than fish and dairy products. Laboratory analysis was then performed to validate the
nutritional value of the LP-formulation using standard analytical methods. The relative
difference between the LP tool calculated values and the laboratory-analysed values were
calculated. Sensory testing was also done to evaluate consumer acceptance of the final
product. Optimal formulation contained 220 mg of preformed Omega-3 DHA+EPA, enough
to meet the RDI for children aged 2-10 years. The LP analysis further showed that the cost of
present product is USD 0.15/100 g, which is 50% lower than that of Plumpy’nut. Laboratory
analysis revealed similar results as that of LP at P=0.05. These findings indicate that readyto-use
natural
food
rich
in
preformed
DHA
and
EPA
can
be
developed
from
locally
available
ingredients.
Sustainable Development Goals
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and
Technology
Keywords
Microalgae, Mental health, Preformed Omega-3 DHA, Nutrient-based intervention