DuPont, Arcadia Biosciences Announce New High-Value Safflower Oil
DuPont Pioneer and Arcadia Biosciences Inc. have announced successful field trials of safflower plants that produce a high value, edible oil with elevated levels of arachidonic acid (ARA).
ARA is one of the highest level fatty acids in the brain, and is an omega-6 fatty acid that is a key component in healthy neural and visual development in infants. It has been proven to provide developmental benefits much like breastfeeding and is included as a functional ingredient in many nutritional products.
The availability of high ARA safflower will provide a more efficient source of ARA leading to production cost efficiencies and wider usage.
“The newly developed safflower oil could ultimately provide a renewable and sustainable source of this nutritionally important fatty acid. Since sunlight provides all the energy needed to make ARA in safflower seed oil, this production technique also is very cost-effective when compared with current commercial methods,” said Tony Kinney, research director, DuPont Pioneer in a press statement.
The ARA safflower oil in currently in late stages of product development and is pending regulatory approval before commercialization.
“The development of ARA safflower oil will expand Arcadia’s nutritional oil offerings and will build on our experience in the development, regulatory management, production and marketing of these high-value products,” said Raj Ketkar, CEO of Arcadia.
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