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Projects & Results

Establishing the important of canola-derived long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on immune development

Project Details

Lead Researcher(s)

Catherine Field

Co-Researcher(s)

Dhruvesh Patel, Gavin Chen, Mohammadreza Pakseresht

Funding Partners

N/A

March 2020 - February 2024

Ongoing

The Challenge

The incidence of food allergies within infants is increasing in North America. Based on previous research by this team of researchers, the intake of the n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is necessary during lactation and weaning to promote the development of the infant’s immune system and their tolerance towards common food proteins. Evidence shows DHA is quite low in breast milk due to a low dietary intake of DHA.

The Project

To determine the efficacy of canola oil as a source of DHA in the diet during lactation and weaning to improve the immune health of infants.

The Results

This section will be updated upon completion of the project.

Grower Benefits

By demonstrating the need for a novel DHA derived from canola to optimize immune development, this project could provide value-added to canola as a source of DHA in the human diet. It may also indirectly increase the market for canola through its potential impact on animal health, as well as increasing the DHA content in livestock, poultry and aquaculture products.

Keywords:

Yield, Heat, Drought, Seed quality, Oil, Diacylglycerol, Acyltransferase