Omega-3 Enriched Plants on Horizon
SYDNEY - Apr 6/05 - SNS -- Australian researchers have demonstrated land plants can be developed which produce DHA, a healthy omega-3 oil component normally only available from fish sources, and vital for human health.
"Showing that plants can produce DHA in their seeds is a remarkable scientific feat," says Dr Bruce Lee, Director of the CSIRO Food Futures Flagship responsible for the project.
"It is an important first step towards improving human nutrition, reducing pressure on declining fish resources worldwide and providing Australian grain growers with new high-value crops."
DHA and other long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are made by lower plant forms, like microalgae, which are then acquired by fish through the food chain, but more advanced plants that grow on land cannot produce them.
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