How Omega-3 Ethyl Esters Get Broken Down Alongside Fats in Digestion

This lab-based (in vitro) study looked at how an ethyl ester form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3, is broken down during digestion when mixed with two types of dietary fat molecules: triolein (a triglyceride) and 2-monoolein (a fat breakdown product).

Researchers found that ALA ethyl ester was broken down (hydrolyzed) much more efficiently when these fat molecules were present. On its own, only about 6.6% of the ethyl ester was broken down, but this jumped to 22-29% with the fat molecules present, and reached nearly 56% after longer exposure to 2-monoolein.

The study also observed that ALA could swap places with fatty acids on the fat molecules (a process called transesterification), though it wasn’t clear exactly how this related to the increased breakdown of the ethyl ester.

The researchers concluded that the improved release of ALA was likely driven by the byproducts created when dietary fat is digested, which seem to help ‘unlock’ the omega-3 from its ethyl ester form.