Promising Sources of Plant-Derived Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: A Narrative Review

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Abstract

(1) Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are known for their ability to protect against numerous metabolic disorders. The consumption of oily fish is the main source of PUFAs in human nutrition and is commonly used for supplement production. However, seafood is an overexploited source that cannot be guaranteed to cover the global demands. Furthermore, it is not consumed by everyone for ecological, economic, ethical, geographical and taste reasons. The growing demand for natural dietary sources of PUFAs suggests that current nutritional sources are insufficient to meet global needs, and less and less will be. Therefore, it is crucial to find sustainable sources that are acceptable to all, meeting the world population’s needs. (2) Scope: This review aims to evaluate the recent evidence about alternative plant sources of essential fatty acids, focusing on long-chain omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs. (3) Method: A structured search was performed on the PubMed search engine to select available human data from interventional studies using omega-3 fatty acids of non-animal origin. (4) Results: Several promising sources have emerged from the literature, such as algae, microorganisms, plants rich in stearidonic acid and GM plants. However, the costs, acceptance and adequate formulation deserve further investigation.

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The promising future of microalgae: current status, challenges, and optimization of a sustainable and renewable industry for biofuels, feed, and other products

Muhammad Khan, Jin Shin, Jong Kim (2018)

Microalgae have recently attracted considerable interest worldwide, due to their extensive application potential in the renewable energy, biopharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. Microalgae are renewable, sustainable, and economical sources of biofuels, bioactive medicinal products, and food ingredients. Several microalgae species have been investigated for their potential as value-added products with remarkable pharmacological and biological qualities. As biofuels, they are a perfect substitute to liquid fossil fuels with respect to cost, renewability, and environmental concerns. Microalgae have a significant ability to convert atmospheric CO2 to useful products such as carbohydrates, lipids, and other bioactive metabolites. Although microalgae are feasible sources for bioenergy and biopharmaceuticals in general, some limitations and challenges remain, which must be overcome to upgrade the technology from pilot-phase to industrial level. The most challenging and crucial issues are enhancing microalgae growth rate and product synthesis, dewatering algae culture for biomass production, pretreating biomass, and optimizing the fermentation process in case of algal bioethanol production. The present review describes the advantages of microalgae for the production of biofuels and various bioactive compounds and discusses culturing parameters.

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Microplastics in Seafood and the Implications for Human Health

Madeleine L. Smith, David C. Love, Chelsea M. Rochman … (2018)

Purpose of Review We describe evidence regarding human exposure to microplastics via seafood and discuss potential health effects. Recent Findings Shellfish and other animals consumed whole pose particular concern for human exposure. If there is toxicity, it is likely dependent on dose, polymer type, size, surface chemistry, and hydrophobicity. Summary Human activity has led to microplastic contamination throughout the marine environment. As a result of widespread contamination, microplastics are ingested by many species of wildlife including fish and shellfish. Because microplastics are associated with chemicals from manufacturing and that sorb from the surrounding environment, there is concern regarding physical and chemical toxicity. Evidence regarding microplastic toxicity and epidemiology is emerging. We characterize current knowledge and highlight gaps. We also recommend mitigation and adaptation strategies targeting the life cycle of microplastics and recommend future research to assess impacts of microplastics on humans. Addressing these research gaps is a critical priority due to the nutritional importance of seafood consumption.

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Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services.

Boris Worm, Edward B Barbier, Nicola Beaumont … (2006)

Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with declining diversity. Restoration of biodiversity, in contrast, increased productivity fourfold and decreased variability by 21%, on average. We conclude that marine biodiversity loss is increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from perturbations. Yet available data suggest that at this point, these trends are still reversible.