What is the difference between triglycerides & ethyl esters in omega-3 fish oil?
Omega-3 fatty acids occur in two different forms, as natural triglycerides and as ethyl esters. The difference between the two is crucial because it significantly affects how well omega-3 is absorbed in the digestive tract – and how effectively it can exert its effects in the body.
What are omega-3 triglycerides and ethyl esters?
Triglycerides are the natural storage form of fats in the human body and make up about 95% of the fats in our diet. Accordingly, omega-3 fatty acids in fish mostly occur in this form (1). It is called omega-3 triglyceridesbecause three fatty acids are attached to one glycerol-„are bound to the "backbone" – including EPA and DHA, the two main omega-3 fatty acids in dietary supplements.
omega-3-ethyl ester (EE) on the other hand, do not occur naturally but are artificially produced in the lab. In this process, the fatty acids are first separated from glycerol. In a subsequent process, which transesterification is called, one fatty acid is attached to each ethanol molecule (alcohol) bound. Manufacturers use this process because it is necessary to purify fish oil and remove contaminants. Only in this way can highly concentrated and at the same time very pure EPA and DHA products be produced (3).
Despite this advantages concerns ethyl ester fish oil strictly speaking to a fish oil concentrate. Legally it may as fish oil is called are actually semi-synthetic, because although ethanol and fatty acids are natural substances, they never occur together in nature.
To combine the benefits of high purity with the natural structure, ethyl ester fish oil can be converted back into its original triglyceride form in an additional step. In this process, is completely removes the ethanolgesplit and the free fatty acids then again bound again to glycbound to glycerol. The result is so-called re-esterified omega-3 triglycerides: highly pure, especially rich in EPA and DHA, and at the same time in their natural form.
Since this final processing step is time-consuming and increases production costs by about 40%, many manufacturers skip it. For this reason, most omega-3 supplements available today still consist of the more cost-effective ethyl ester form instead of natural triglyceride fish oil. vabon consciously chooses this additional Sstep to for vabon oh!mega to use a particularly pure omega-3 fish oil in its natural triglyceride form. The triglyceride content of at least 90 % in vabon oh!mega is exceptionally high and offers ideal conditions for efficient absorption of omega-3 fatty acids.
Why is it so important to use triglyceride fish oil instead of ethyl ester fish oil use?
The most important The reason is that triglyceride fish oil the natural form of Omega-3 is and has a much higher bioavailability than Omega-3 ethyl esters (3)(7-11). This means that a larger portion of the EPA and DHA contained in triglyceride fish oil is absorbed and can be used than it is with Ethylester-fish oil is the case (2). Because before the body can the Omega-3 fatty acids contained in it, the body must first convert them extensively - dThis additional step makes absorption slower and less efficient.
Studies show that Omega-3 fatty acids from triglyceride fish oil enter the blood faster and in larger amounts than from ethyl ester fish oil. This means that the body has more effective Omega-3 available at the same dosage.
Another important difference concerns Stability of the fish oil. Ethyl ester fish oil oxidizes faster than triglyceride fish oil. Oxidation means that the oil decomposes through contact with oxygen and loses quality – in the worst case, it becomes unusable.
Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly sensitive, which is why fish oils are generally protected with antioxidants like vitamin E. However, studies show that ethyl ester fish oil oxidizes faster at all temperatures even with this protection than fish oil in its natural triglyceride form (13-16).
How much better are Omega-3 triglycerides compared to ethyl ester fish oil? The difference in numbers.
Many earlier studies are based on ethyl ester fish oil. Meanwhile, more and more studies specifically examine the differences between ethyl ester and triglyceride fish oil after absorption in the body. So can a study proves that Omega-3 fatty acids from triglycerides absorbed up to 71% better are better than from ethyl esters. Another study even shows that fatty acids from triglycerides compared to a up to 400% higher absorption rate show.
Medically speaking are considered eElevated blood triglyceride levels as an important risk marker for cardiovascular diseases and increase the risk of a heart attack. One six-month study to Omega-3 supplements illustrates, that Omega-3-fatty acids significantly in triglyceride form more effective at lowering blood triglyceride levels contribute as ethyl ester fish oil.
Why so Make compromises? Choose vabon oh!mega – nnaturally, hochrein and oOptimally available.
Sources
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(2) Schuchardt, J., & Hahn, A. (2013). Bioavailability of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA), 89(1), 1-8.
(3) Dyerberg, J., Madsen, P., Møller, J., Aardestrup, I., & Schmidt, E. (2010). Bioavailability of marine n-3 fatty acid formulations. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA), 83(3), 137-141.
(4) J Neubronner, J.P. Schchardt, G Kressel, M. Merkel, C von Schacky, Ahahn. Enhanced increase of omega 3 index in response to long term n-3 fatty acid supplementation from triacyglycerides versus ethyl esters, Eur J. Clin Nutr. 65 (2011) 247 -254.
(5) J.P. Schuchardt, J. Neubronner, G Kressel, M Merkel, C von Schacky, A Hahn. Moderate doses of EPA and DHA from re-esterified triacyglycerols but not from ethyl-ester lower fasting serum triacyglycerols in statin-treated dyslipidemic subjects: results from a 6 month randomised controlled trial.
(6) Davidson MH, Johnson J, Rooney MW, Kyle ML, Kling DF. A novel omega-3 free fatty cid formulation has dramatically improved bioavailability during a low fat diet compared with omega-3-acid ethyl ester: The ECLIPSE (Epanova compared to Lovaza in a pharmacokinetic single dose evaluation) study. J coin Lipidol 2012;6:573-84.
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(9) Lawson LD, Hughes BG. Human absorption of fish oil fatty acids as triacyglycerols, free acids, or ethyl esters. Biochem Biopsy REs Commun 1998: 152: 328-35.
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(14) Yoshii, H., et al., Autoxidation kinetic analysis of docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester and docosahexaenoic triglyceride with oxygen sensor. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem, 2002. 66(4): p. 749-53.
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