Fatty acid content of marine oil capsules

The use of dietary ω3 fatty acid capsules has been associated with a decrease in plasma triglyceride levels. In addition, populations consuming diets rich in fish appear to have a decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20∶5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22∶6ω3) are major fatty acids in fish oils. It is believed that fish oils exert their biolotic effect through these fatty acids. Many individuals are currently taking fish oil capsules to lower lipids, increase bleeding time, and possibly decrease cardiovascular risk. These capsules also have been classified as food additives with less stringent controls on content. We assessed the fatty acid, cholesterol, and vitamin A and E content of eight commercially available capcules along with cod liver oil. The content of EPA was found to range from 8.7–26.4% (wt%) with a mean of 17.3% (82.4% of labeled content), and that of DHA from 8.9–17.4% with a mean of 11.5% (90.0% of labeled content) as assessed by capillary column gas-liquid chromatography. The mean content of the polyunsaturated ω3 fatty acids was 31.9%, and that of the ω6 fatty acids was 1.4%. The content of saturated fatty acids was 32,0%, and that of monounsaturated fatty acids was 25.1%. Cholesterol content was low, with a range of 0.7–8.3 mg/g, the α-tocopherol range was 0.62–2.24 mg/g, and the range of retinyl esters was 0.4–298.4 μg/g. Cod liver oil had substantially more retinyl esters (2450.1 μg/g) than did fish oil capsules. Our data serve as an independent guide to fish oil capsule fatty acid content upon single lot analysis, and indicate that these capsules contain as much saturated fat as they contain ω3 fatty acids.