ALMERIA, Spain—A new study reveals that lumpsucker, hake or salmon roe are excellent natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for ensuring the correct development of a wide variety of metabolic functions including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, depression, diabetes, poor development of the nervous and reproductive systems, and inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn's disease.
Researchers at the University of Almería (UAL) studied the fatty acid content in the eggs of 15 marine animals, focusing their research on two types of omega-3—eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA). More than 30 percent of the fatty acids found in these eggs were EPA and DHA.
"We have classified these eggs as unequivocal sources of omega-3, and have proven that this appears at high concentrations in all the species studies", said José Luis Guil Guerrero, director of this study and a researcher in the Food Technology Department of the UAL.
The results, published in the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology, show that omega-3 fatty acids are present in all fish roe, but especially in the eggs of Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda), mackerel (Scomber scombrus), squid (Loligo vulgaris), cuttlefish (Sepia sp.), lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus), hake (Merluccius merluccius) and salmon (Salmo salar).
