The “basic” fatty acid composition of atlantic fish oils: Potential similarities useful for enrichment of polyunsaturated fatty acids by urea complexation

It is known that the 20:1 and 22:1 fatty acids of fish oils from temperate and northern latitudes are of exogenous origin. By discounting these two fatty acids, calculation shows that the remaining fatty acids are a “basic” composition for these fish oils, with similar totals for saturated (14:0, 16:0), monounsaturated (16:1, 18:1) and polyunsaturated (primarily n‐3) fatty acids. Thus, any of these oils are potential raw materials for urea complexing of acids or esters to give concentrates enriched in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic fatty acids.