ABSTRACT
Human nutritionists warn that the supply of DHA is not keeping up with demand and predict a global health crisis. This dire forecast was previously blunted because of uncertainty concerning the dietary roles played by DHA in the body. That the global supply of DHA, especially from the marine shery, is plateauing in the face of increasing population growth is a sound argument. Safety issues related to accumulation of heavy metals in the esh of long-lived sh such as tuna are also of concern. Recent advances concerning the mechanism of action of DHA reinforce the concerns of human nutritionists and focus attention toward new commercial sources of DHA. The commercial area that has received the most attention involves the need for highly puried and safe sources of DHA targeted to supplementation of baby formula. This is a large market justied by convincing research showing that dietary DHA is needed and incorporated during the period of rapid brain development in infants, and is also preferentially shunted into mothers milk.
