Safety evaluation of DHA-rich Algal Oil from Schizochytrium sp.

The safety of DHA-rich Algal Oil from Schizochytrium sp. containing 40–45 wt% DHA and up to 10 wt% EPA was evaluated by testing for gene mutations, clastogenicity and aneugenicity, and in a subchronic 90-day Sprague–Dawley rat dietary study with in utero exposure, followed by a 4-week recovery phase. The results of all genotoxicity tests were negative. In the 90-day study, DHA-rich Algal Oil was administered at dietary levels of 0.5, 1.5, and 5 wt% along with two control diets: a standard low-fat basal diet and a basal diet supplemented with 5 wt% of concentrated Fish Oil. There were no treatment-related effects of DHA-rich Algal Oil on clinical observations, body weight, food consumption, behavior, hematology, clinical chemistry, coagulation, or urinalysis. Increases in absolute and relative weights of the liver, kidney, spleen and adrenals (adrenals and spleen with histological correlates) were observed in both the Fish Oil- and the high-dose of DHA-rich Algal Oil-treated females and were not considered to be adverse. The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for DHA-rich Algal Oil under the conditions of this study was 5 wt% in the diet, equivalent to an overall average DHA-rich Algal Oil intake of 4260 mg/kg bw/day for male and female rats.