Acronym NA
Category
Seafood Processing
Title Kjemisk testing av hvalolje og sammenligning med tidligere produkt av spekk - Chemical testing of whale oil and comparison with previous product of lard Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Stig Valdersnes Coordinator email Stig.Valdersnes@nifes.no
Coordinator institution
NIFES - National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (Norway)
Institutions involved
IMR - Institute of Marine Research (Norway) ,
Start year 2013 End year 2014 Funding (€) € 43,525 Website https://www.fhf.no/prosjekter/prosjektbasen/900921/ Summary "Reduced profitability combined with restrictions on the export of whale products means that the whaling industry needs to think outside the box in order to operate profitably. Total utilisation of whales and documentation of new health-beneficial products are areas that can help improve reputation and increase operating margins in the industry.
Previous studies have shown that whale oil may be superior to fish oils and cod liver oil when it comes to reducing biomarkers for cardiovascular disease and blood clots. Whale oils have also shown excellent properties in connection with inflammatory diseases. On the other hand, the content of foreign substances in the blubber has meant that some animals have to be sorted out.
The purpose of the project was to be able to use the residual raw materials from whaling commercially, by assessing the application possibilities for whale oil made from back blubber, abdominal blubber and minke whale skeleton by documenting the content of positive components and foreign substances in the product.
Sub-goals:
1. To carry out needs assessment of refining and purification in relation to contaminant content.
2. To quality assure the finished product with regard to the content of contaminants and positive components.
3. To compare the results with previously analyzed whale oils of blubber.
The results have shown that the oils must be refined and purified due to the increased content of organic contaminants, especially PCB6, for which a new limit value was introduced in marine oils in 2012. Since the finished encapsulated product had not been purified before enclosure, it was still above the limit value.
The content of various fatty acids in the samples was documented, and comparison of the results with previously analysed whale oil showed that the fat profile is very similar between the different types of whale oil, but that the previously analysed oil possibly had a slightly higher content of omega-3 fatty acids compared to the oils analysed in this project.
The results for balenin showed that this compound is found in elevated levels in extract from bone and in samples of muscle. It has not been found in quantifiable amounts in the fat-rich samples as expected from balenin being mainly water-soluble.
The results for both PAH and elements were low and unproblematic in relation to the current limit values.
No coliform bacteria or Salmonella were detected in the samples analysed during the project.
Future steps include further development of the balenin determination method, as well as validation of the method so that quantitative figures for balenin content can be obtained in the future. Authentication of whale oils is particularly relevant when it comes to documenting traceability of the product, so that whale oil can be distinguished from other omega-3 products such as fish oils, but also omega-3-containing plant oils. This can be done by documenting the content of different fatty acids in representative samples for different oils and performing a multivariate data processing of these results so that the oils can be separated from each other in a mathematical model.
In addition, it may be appropriate to make position-specific determination of where the various fatty acids are located in relation to each other in the triacyl glyceride, since, as mentioned earlier, it has been shown that fish oils have more EPA/DHA in position 2, while oils from marine mammals have more EPA/DHA in positions 1 and 3 on the triacylglyceride. Such position-specific determination will provide increased robustness to the mathematical model and authentication.
In order to document the postulated beneficial effects of balenin such as antioxidant and regulation of glucose levels in the blood, as well as to evaluate any negative effects, it is initially necessary to perform a dose-response experiment on both male and female mice since gender may be important. Here it is important to find good endpoints for the experiment so that any positive and negative effects are uncovered before human eating trials can be initiated in the future."
Keywords
Wastes;
Human health;
Whale;
Waste valorization;
Cetaceans;
Bioprospecting;
Bioactive compounds;
Byproducts;
Marine Region
42
Barents Sea (27.I)
41
Norwegian Sea (27.IIa)
13
Northern North Sea (27.IVa)
14
Skagerrak, Kattegat (27.IIIa)
4
Marine Region Map
