Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Designated organic active ingredient containing – Radical -xh acid – or anhydride – acid halide or salt thereof...
Patent
1992-09-11
1996-10-22
Fay, Zohreh
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Designated organic active ingredient containing
Radical -xh acid, or anhydride, acid halide or salt thereof...
514573, 435134, A61K 3120
Patent
active
055677320
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to edible oils containing omega-3-fatty acids, in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The invention also relates to methods of producing EPA in commercially viable yields.
Omega-3-fatty acids are known to be beneficial in reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease. The metabolism of omega-3-fatty acids is not understood. Thus, although these acids are known to have beneficial effects, precise clinical dosages and efficacy are not known.
Omega-3-fatty acids, including EPA, have been found in the oils of cold water marine fish. Indeed, this is the primary source of commercially available EPA. It is believed that the omega-3-fatty acids found in fish originate from phytoplankton which are at the base of the marine food chain. The belief is due to the fact that many phytoplankton species are found to contain reserves of oil containing varying amounts of EPA.
Certain marine microorganisms are known to contain EPA. For example, Yazawa et al., J. Biochem, 103:5-7 (1988), found 88 strains of gram-negative bacteria which produced EPA. U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,839 (Seto et al.) discloses the cultivation of monocellular green algae in open pools followed by recovery of EPA from those microalgae.
While omega-3-fatty acids are known to have medicinal utility, there are problems associated with their use. Because of their association with fish oils, there is often a fishy odor and unpleasant taste associated with these acids. Additionally, although fish oils do contain EPA, many of these oils cannot be consumed by humans due to the presence of attendant contaminants, such as PCB, as well as a high concentration of oxidation-sensitive polyunsaturated fatty acids, some of which exhibit bioactivities which are different from, and even antagonistic to, EPA. Furthermore, oils from many fish, particularly fish from tropical zone waters, also contain significant quantities of arachidonic acid which exhibits a biological effect antagonistic to EPA. While production of omega-3-fatty acids in microorganisms would eliminate the contaminant problems, no commercially acceptable and economically feasible method of producing large quantities of these acids in microorganisms has been available.
Isotopically labelled EPA would be of great benefit in elucidating the pathway of omega-3-fatty acid metabolism. However, labelled EPA in sufficient quantities to perform such research has not heretofore been obtainable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to produce EPA in microorganisms by a commercially feasible method to obtain commercially acceptable yields.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to produce isotopically labelled EPA from this cultivation process in amounts sufficient to study omega-3-fatty acid metabolism.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the cultivation of microorganisms in a bioreactor, inducing the generation of edible oils containing omega-3-fatty acids in those microorganisms and recovering those oils and/or fatty acids. The invention also is directed to novel oils which contain omega-3-fatty acids but lack the additional polyunsaturated fatty acids associated with fish oils, to diatoms having increased amounts of omega-3-fatty acids as compared to wild type diatoms growing in the wild, and to mutant diatoms. Typically, these oils are further characterized as exhibiting biphasic melting patterns. Furthermore, isotopically labelled omega-3-fatty acids and their production are disclosed.
The present invention provides an economical method of obtaining edible oils having favorable organoleptic characteristics containing EPA without significant amounts of other polyunsaturated fatty acids. Additionally, the method permits cultivation of diatoms to greater cell densities than those typically achieved by prior art processes. The edible oils produced by this method are free of environmental contaminants often found in EPA-containing oils from other sources.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graphic
REFERENCES:
patent: 2725677 (1955-12-01), Myers
patent: 4615839 (1986-10-01), Seto et al.
patent: 4670285 (1987-06-01), Clandinin et al.
patent: 4831022 (1989-05-01), Hijiya et al.
Biosis 88081708 (1989)--Volkman et al.
Biosis 85008909 (1907)--Vladivostok.
Yazawa et al. J. Biochem, 103: 5-7 (1988).
Borowitzka, "Micro-Alga Biotechnology", Cambridge University Press (1988).
Miller et al., Lipids, 24:998-1003 (1985).
Stauber et al., Water Research, 23(7): 907-911, 1989.
Behrens, et al. "Novel Microbial Products for Medicine and Agriculture", Society for Industrial Microbiology (1989).
Hoeksema et al., "An EPA-Containing Oil From Microalgae In Culture" paper presented at Int'l Conference in St. Johns, Canada Jul. 31-Aug. 2, 1988.
Anderson, Biochemica et Biophysica Acta, 528:77-78 (1978).
Li et al., Br. Phycol. J. 22: 375-382 (1980).
Gladue Raymond
Kyle David J.
Fay Zohreh
Martek Biosciences Corporation
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