DHA is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid for the human body and has important physiological regulatory functions for the human body. It is an important fatty acid component in the brain, nerves, and visual cells. It can promote the functional development of the brain and vision of infants and young children, and is beneficial to the improvement of intelligence, learning and memory. However, DHA is an essential fatty acid for the human body. The human body cannot synthesize it by itself and needs to be ingested from the outside. To be frank, here we recommend DHA algae oil for babies to supplement instead of fish oil.

Comparison of the smell of fish oil and algae oil

Fresh marine oil has no odor or only a special mild odor, but the fish oil purchased often has a fishy smell. In addition to the processing process and the action of microorganisms and enzymes, the main reason for the fishy smell of fish oil is that the polyunsaturated fatty acids it contains are easily auto-oxidized to produce unpleasant odor substances. Algae oil DHA does not contain fishy smell, only the unique smell of algae oil.dha algal oil powder Algae oil is rich in DHA, which is a triglyceride type, and algae oil is a natural oil containing a variety of natural antioxidants such as carotenoids, so it has high oxidative stability. Relatively speaking, algae oil DHA has better sensory quality and is more suitable for infants and young children who are sensitive to taste.

Content and existence form of DHA in fish oil and algae oil

There are two main forms of DHA in fish oil, one is ethyl ester type (EE) and the other is triglyceride type (TG). DHA in natural fish oil exists in the form of triglycerides, but the content is generally low, about 12%. However, as a DHA product development and utilization, the purity of fish oil often cannot meet people's requirements. Generally, it is necessary to use the transesterification method to transesterify fish oil into fish oil ethyl ester to enrich the DHA content in fish oil. The DHA in natural algae exists in the form of triglycerides. Since the algae itself has a high DHA content, directly extracting algae powder can reach a content of more than 35%. The extracted algae DHA oil does not require subsequent concentration and esterification. DHA maintains the natural triglyceride form in algae oil.

Human absorption experiments show that 57% of DHA is absorbed by the human body in the form of triglycerides. In contrast, only 21% of DHA is absorbed in the form of ethyl esters. The absorption rate of triglyceride DHA in the human body is 300% of that of ethyl ester. This is mainly because the main lipase in the human pancreas and liver is a specific hydrolyzer of triglycerides, and cannot effectively hydrolyze ethyl esters to release free fatty acids for absorption by the human body. In addition, a large number of studies have shown that the absorption and bioavailability of triglyceride DHA in the human body is higher than that of ethyl ester, and digestive enzymes are the main factors causing this situation.

Exogenous pollution problem

Most people think that fish is the main source of DHA, but the fact is that fish contain DHA because they eat DHA-rich algae oil and related plankton in the ocean, and their DHA is transmitted through the food chain and accumulated in the fish body. As the pollution of mercury and other heavy metals in the ocean has become a global environmental problem, marine pollution is a problem for fish oil. Mercury in seawater is absorbed by plankton and converted into organic mercury, which is then accumulated in marine fish through the food chain. When it reaches the human body, its toxicity is dozens of times higher than the original, which has a destructive effect on the human nervous system, especially on children. Algae oil is directly extracted from seaweed and does not go through the food chain, so it is safer.

Fish oil is more helpful in lowering triglycerides and is more suitable for middle-aged and elderly people. For pregnant women and babies, algae oil is more suitable in terms of smell and safety.