Nuseed and KD Nutra partner to expand plant-based omega-3 ingredients

29 Jul 2024 --- Nuseed Nutritional US has partnered with KD Nutra to leverage their expertise in new sources of plant-based omega-3s to meet the growing demand for marine alternatives in the field. Nuseed’s omega-3 canola offerings include Aquaterra and Nutriterra, which are derived from canola seed oil.

“This is a research and development partnership, with a long-term goal of creating new plant-based omega-3 categories for human nutrition,” Benita Boettner, Nuseed Nutritional, global general manager, tells Nutrition Insight. 

Nuseed focuses on transforming key crops into renewable and traceable sources of lower-carbon energy and plant-based nutrition. Nutriterra provides a sustainable land-based oil supply, helping reduce pressure on wild fish stocks.

Boettner notes: “Nutriterra is designed to close the omega-3 gap in human nutrition. The omega-3 profile is clinically shown to be bioavailable, increasing the Omega Score and improving the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in study participants. This plant-based source provides a pleasant sensory experience and makes DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) accessible to people who avoid marine omega-3 due to allergies or preferences.”

Bioenergy and vertical integration
Nuseed Nutritional US is Nufarm Limited’s seed technologies platform, while KD Nutra is a division of KD Pharma Group. Nufarm develops agricultural solutions to environmental challenges. The company has developed plant-based omega-3 and commercialized advanced bioenergy feedstock technology. 

KD Nutra is a technology-driven contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with expertise in ultra-potent marine-based and algae-based omega-3 nutritional lipids and Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs). 

“ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is the omega-3 that is most associated with plants, like walnuts and flax. This is an essential fatty acid, meaning the body cannot make these nutrients and people must consume them. DHA is a longer chain fatty acid and it is present in every cell of the human body and it makes up 10–20% of the human brain,” says Boettner. 

“While DHA fatty acid is essential to maintaining human health, it is not considered essential because our body can convert a small portion of the ALA we consume from plants into DHA and EPA. Its conversion rate of 7–15% is enabled by an enzymatic process that breaks apart shorter-chain fatty acids and rebuilds them into longer-chain fatty acids. This is the same pathway that Nuseed Omega-3 Canola has replicated within a crop to convert shorter-chain fatty acids into DHA.”

Purifying omega-3The partnership will make plant-based omega-3s available to more than 50% of people who are not getting the recommended daily amount.
KD Nutra’s processing systems can manufacture any desired combination of concentration level (up to 99%) and eicosapentaenoic acid EPA/DHA omega-3 ratio. 

The company’s kd-pür supercritical CO2 patented process gently extracts and purifies omega-3s in a pharmaceutical cGMP-certified facility without excessive heat, chemical solvents (green technology) or oxygen. It uses special vertical integration methods to create health solutions, from raw oils to ultra-high potency omega-3 EPA and DHA concentrates from vegan and marine sources.

“The global consensus is that 500 mg a day of DHA/EPA is recommended to maintain good heart, eye and brain health, yet the average consumption is around 100 mg a day. New plant-based omega-3 that meets consumers’ preferences can help close this nutrition gap,” Boettner explains.

Nutriterra, the main product in the portfolio, is an expeller-pressed RBD (refined, bleached and deodorized) oil. “The profile is 30% total omega-3, including DHA, EPA and ALA. It offers consumers a milder sensory experience than marine oils, making it easy to formulate into fortified foods and dietary supplements,” Boettner notes.

“Nuseed is focused on expanding our portfolio of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids through our research and development capabilities, as well as acquisitions.”

Nuseed Omega-3 Canola is developed using sophisticated biotechnology, which enables canola to convert shorter-chain fatty acids in the plant to DHA using the same enzymatic pathway as microalgae. 

Optimal nutrient composition
According to the partners, Nuseed Omega-3 Canola can double the global supply of DHA on just 5% of current canola production land. This would make the vital nutrient accessible to around 80% of people who aren’t getting the recommended 500 mg a day.

Boettner says: “Nuseed Omega-3 Canola is planted, harvested and processed just like conventional canola. For our growing partners, the only difference is the extra care we ask that they take in record keeping so we can ensure a traceable, high-quality product that isn’t exposed to other canola genetics. After this crop is harvested, it is processed into Aquaterra and Nutriterra oils.”

Aquaterra is optimized for aquafeeds and currently supplies omega-3 oils to farmed salmon around the world. Studies have shown that including Aquaterra in fish diets improves animal welfare and the overall quality and nutrition of the filet. It is the first biotech ingredient approved for use in Norway. 

“Our combined technologies and capabilities have great potential for human health. Nufarm’s innovation in plant-based nutrition, together with KD Nutra’s technology platform and leadership in omega-3s, will allow us to bring renewable solutions to the industry,” says Brent Zacharias, group executive for seed technologies at Nufarm.

Meanwhile, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s published its latest review on the status of omega-3 diagnostics testing, providing an overview of the best options available for measuring long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids via dietary assessments and commercially available analytical tests of blood and breast milk samples.

By Inga de Jong