Not all fish oils are high quality oils, so scientists have developed a safe and sustainable method to help produce
better dietary Omega-3 health and dietary supplements.
The superior fish oil, and other bioactive ingredients such as curcumin, were used in a pleasant tasting fruit juice,
showcasing another use for the vortex fluidic device (VFD), a high-tech machine developed at Flinders University.
The new process, outlined in a new Nature Partner Journals (npj) Science of Food paper, defines how the device’s high-speed processing lifts the quality of active ingredients of the polyunsaturated
fatty acids (PUFAs) in fish oil.
The process was used to enrich Omega-3 fatty acid content of apple juice, remarkably without changing its sensory values
which is important for the consumer, says co-lead author, University of Cincinnati Associate Professor Harshita Kumari.
Published in partnership with Guangzhou, Cincinnati and Flinders University, with the Australian Nuclear Science and
Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the research is further proof of the value of rapid vortex fluidic green chemistry
processing.
Flinders University Professor of Clean Technology Colin Raston says the vortex fluidic device also had the capability to scientifically measure and control the requirements for better outcomes in food processing.
“By adjusting the machine’s parameters – including rotational speed, tilt angle, temperature, flow rates, and
concentrations and ratio of components – we’ve shown how to reduce particle size for better absorption of fish oil and a
range of other improvements,” Professor Raston says, adding the device has multiple applications in forming nano-meter
dimension particles to order, such as in drug delivery development.
In the latest study, the device was able to raise PUFA levels and purity by lowering oxidation and dramatically
improving shelf life compared to fish oil produced by regular industrial homogenisation. Natural bioactive molecules
were used in processing, showing that the fish oil medium can take up flavonoids and other health supplements.
The researchers also developed a world first technique for studying how the process occurs in the VFD – real time.
It also underlines the viability and versatility of the VFD to serve multiple purposes, which has already achieved
unravelling proteins, as shown in Professor Raston’s world-renowned “unboiling an egg” experiment.
The article, ‘Vortex fluidic mediated encapsulation of functional fish oil featuring in situ probed small angle neutron
scattering’ (2020), by Shan He, Nikita Joseph, Marzieh Mirzamani, Scott J Pye, Ahmed Hussein Mohammed Alanataki, Andrew
Whitten, Yaonan Chen, Harshita Kumari and Colin L Raston has been published in Science of Food, a Nature Partner Journals (npj) DOI: 10.1038/s41538-020-00072-1.
The project received funding from the Australian Research Council, and support from ANSTO.