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Review
. 2023 Jan 9;28(2):672.
doi: 10.3390/molecules28020672.

Highly Valuable Fish Oil: Formation Process, Enrichment, Subsequent Utilization, and Storage of Eicosapentaenoic Acid Ethyl Esters

Mengyuan Yi  1 , Yue You  1 , Yiren Zhang  1 , Gangcheng Wu  1 , Emad Karrar  1 , Le Zhang  2 , Hui Zhang  1 , Qingzhe Jin  1 , Xingguo Wang  1
Affiliations
Review

Highly Valuable Fish Oil: Formation Process, Enrichment, Subsequent Utilization, and Storage of Eicosapentaenoic Acid Ethyl Esters

Mengyuan Yi et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

In recent years, as the demand for precision nutrition is continuously increasing, scientific studies have shown that high-purity eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester (EPA-EE) functions more efficiently than mixed omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid preparations in diseases such as hyperlipidemia, heart disease, major depression, and heart disease; therefore, the market demand for EPA-EE is growing by the day. In this paper, we attempt to review EPA-EE from a whole-manufacturing-chain perspective. First, the extraction, refining, and ethanolysis processes (fish oil and ethanol undergo transesterification) of EPA-EE are described, emphasizing the potential of green substitute technologies. Then, the method of EPA enrichment is thoroughly detailed, the pros and cons of different methods are compared, and current developments in monomer production techniques are addressed. Finally, a summary of current advanced strategies for dealing with the low oxidative stability and low bioavailability of EPA-EE is presented. In conclusion, understanding the entire production process of EPA-EE will enable us to govern each step from a macro perspective and accomplish the best use of EPA-EE in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly way.

Keywords: EPA; EPA-EE; bioavailability; concentration; enrichment; ethanolysis; extraction; high purity; oxidation stability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overview of the main processing steps and the latest technology in the EPA-EE formation process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The chemical structural formula of EPA-EE (left) and DHA-EE (right).
Figure 3
Figure 3
An overview of the features of EPA-EE enrichment technologies and the results of the combination of these technologies. C, combination; the orange double-headed arrow indicates a combination of methods; highest purity generally means the highest concentration achieved by the EPA-EE mixture; smiley faces indicate the advantages of the technology, and sad faces indicate disadvantages.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The most recent techniques to increase bioavailability, as well as the primary storage forms of EPA-EE (or highly concentrated omega-3 PUFAs).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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