Concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids from rainbow sardine fish oil by various methods

Fractionation processes of fish oil fatty acid for the production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of omega-3 series have become very important because of the beneficial properties of these substances to human health, and, as a functional food. To obtain high yield of extraction and concentration of omega-3, rainbow sardine fish (Dussumieria acuta) oil were studied by: supercritical fluid extraction (T = 40, 50, 60°C and 150, 250, 350 bar), urea complexation (T = 1, -5, -10°C), and low-temperature crystallization with ethanol solvent (T = 10, 0, -5°C). The omega-3 concentration yield and fatty acid compositions of concentrated oils were compared. The results of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) method showed that the highest decrease in saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids were obtained at 50 - 60°C and 350 bars. Results revealed that the highest reduction of SFA and MUFA, and the highest increase in PUFA (omega-3), which resulted in the highest omega-3 yield (47.53%), was obtained at -10ºC in urea complexation method (p 0.05). The higher PUFA concentrations in low-temperature crystallization method with ethanol solvent were obtained at -5°C, with EPA and DHA purities rising up to 17.74 and 25.51%, respectively.