Abstract:
There is an ever increasing awareness about health foods especially
in developed countries and fish is getting more acceptances because of
its special nutritional qualities. Fish can serve as a significant source of
protein, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids. Lysine present
in them can supplement the corresponding deficiency in plant proteins.
Two significant components present in marine fish and not present in other
foods are the o-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Most important dietary recommendation to
improve health and prevent chronic diseases is to increase dietary intake
of co-3 fatty acids that are found primarily in the fatty fish (Exler and
Wehrauch, 1988). These fatty acids have been suggested to have
beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of major diseases
affecting human health such as Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), cancer,
diabetics, high blood pressure and auto immune diseases. Mackerel
supplemented diet lowers the systolic and diastolic pressure in
hypertensive subjects (Flick and Martin, 1992). Animal studies have shown
that ingestion of fish oils prevents or diminishes arrhythmia (Charnock,
1991) Administration of fish oil has been found to be useful to reduce
the inflammatory effects in many patients (Budiarso, 1990). High dietary
intake of c -6 fatty acids have beneficial effects against malignant tumors
(Cave, 1991). DHA are particularly valuable as nutrients for the cells of
the brain, nervous system, eyes, adrenal glands (Carlson and Salem,
1991). With the current average seafood consumption of 14g/day, our
intake of EPA and DHA is small. It is highly unlikely that an excess of
o)-3 fatty acid will result from seafood consumption (Flick and Martin,
1992). Even with an increase in seafood consumption by a factor of five,it would be difficult to achieve the estimated intake of w-3 fatty acids.
Enrichment of food with fish oil encapsulations is a remedy to this
particular problem.
