While there is a consensus that plant-based omega-3 sources don’t convert efficiently to DHA in the human body, new research suggests that there is more than meets the eye with standard testing.
 
Primary evidence in a new animal study by researchers at the University of Toronto expounds upon research highlighted in a whitepaper by Natures Crops, the manufacturers of the ingredient Ahiflower, suggests that the plant-based ALA and SDA can convert to circulating plasma DHA at relatively efficient turnover rates compared to a fish-based DHA source.
 
In the study sponsored by Stratum Nutrition, supplier of the ingredient Ahiflower which is manufactured by Natures Crops, researchers used specialized carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry to measure the rate at which the omega-3s in both flax seed oil and Ahiflower (Buglossoides arvensis) could convert to DHA, compared to a fish oil-based DHA source. The results, they said, call into question narratives about the role that plant-based omegas, such as ALA and LA – or their elongated metabolites SDA and GLA – have in the metabolic conversion to EPA and DHA.
 
According to the results in the abstract of the animal study, which awaits publication, Ahiflower oil converted to DHA more efficiently than flax oil. Across all three fatty acid groups (marine DHA, Ahiflower, flaxseed), “no differences were identified at any timepoint between all three diets for liver DHA.”
 
Additionally, mice which consumed preformed DHA experienced declines in circulating levels of EPA, another beneficial omega-3, compared to baseline. On the other hand, flax oil simply maintained levels, while Ahiflower oil significantly elevated circulating EPA. Lastly, it was found that Ahiflower was significantly more effective at raising plasma DHA than flaxseed oil – by day three of the study, plasma DHA levels increased 17% compared to 12% in the flaxseed group.

The Background 
 
Prior to this study, Natures Crops recently published a plant-based omega-3s whitepaper on research which served as a background to this study, pointing to evidence which contradicts a generally-accepted consensus in other studies that plant-based omega-3 sources don’t convert to DHA efficiently. The whitepaper questions claims that humans have evolved with an innate inefficiency in converting plant-based fatty acids to their longer-chain, downstream metabolites. According to the company, the study also provides preliminary evidenced based on the animal models that plant-based omega-3 intakes may be adequate for DHA uptake in key tissues.
 
“Ahiflower oil is a plant-based omega source that supplies higher levels of immediate omega-3 precursors to EPA and DHA due to its exceptionally high ALA and SDA content, increases circulating EPA and anti-inflammatory GLA levels, and has new preliminary evidence of relatively rapid DHA turnover,” Richard Bazinet, PhD, professor of the department of nutritional sciences at University of Toronto and Greg Cumberford, science and regulatory vice president at Natures Crops International, wrote (both Bazinet and Cumberford were authors in the present animal study). “SDA is the most efficient plant-based omega-3 fatty acid precursor for EPA and DHA synthesis, converting up to 4 times the rate of ALA into EPA. Ahiflower is the richest non-GM, plant-derived source of SDA.”
 
According to Bazinet, a co-author of the animal study, the observations made in ALA, SDA, and GLA conversions at concentrations high enough and found in Ahiflower reframe debates on the most optimal and sustainable dietary omega sources. As a terrestrial and plant-based omega-3 source, Ahiflower provides omega-3 precursors in high enough quantities to convert downstream into EPA and DHA at sufficient rates.
 
“Existing, readily scalable, and regeneratively grown plant-based sources can meaningfully address clinical wellness endpoints, while alleviating global pressure on ocean ecosystems that the dominant sourcing of omega-3 oil causes,” Bezinet and Cumberford said.