Grant: Engage Grants Program

Fish oil is a rich source of very long chain highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) known as omega (n)-3HUFAs. The n-3 HUFAs have been associated with several health benefits, including lowering the risk of heartdisease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Thus, the consumption of marine derived supplements, such as fish oilsupplements, are gaining popularity. However, n-3 HUFAs are highly prone to oxidation due to the presence ofseveral double bonds. The consumption of oxidized fatty acids, in fact, is harmful to human health, raising thedilemma whether fish oil supplements are beneficial or harmful. Besides fish oil, seal oil is another rich sourceof n-3 HUFA. We have previously shown that seal oil was better at lowering blood lipid levels and preventingoxidative stress in hamsters compared to fish oil. Seal oil has different fatty acid composition compared to fishoil, which may provide an in-built capacity to naturally prevent oxidation of fatty acids in seal oil. Our findingsfrom this project will yield highly valuable information to establish the shelf life of seal oil, which will improvethe storage and production capacity of seal oil. The findings will also help in designing novel products byincorporating seal oil, thereby providing a niche market for the seal oil industry.