A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and
Technology
Poor mental health remains a serious public concern worldwide. The most vulnerable
individuals are children and adolescents in developing countries. Nutritional deficiency of
Omega-3 DHA and EPA has long been recognized as a major contributing factor for mental
health illnesses. Provision of ready-to-use natural product rich in preformed Omega-3 DHA
could address this problem. However, most commonly used products are expensive and
contain less or no preformed Omega-3 DHA, making them less suitable for prevention of
mental illnesses in resource-poor countries. The main objective of this study was to develop a
natural product rich in preformed Omega-3 DHA and EPA from locally available
ingredients. Linear programming (LP) was used to formulate a natural product rich in
preformed Omega-3 DHA and other essential nutrients using locally available ingredients
other than fish and dairy products. Laboratory analysis was then performed to validate the
nutritional value of the LP-formulation using standard analytical methods. The relative
difference between the LP tool calculated values and the laboratory-analysed values were
calculated. Sensory testing was also done to evaluate consumer acceptance of the final
product. Optimal formulation contained 220 mg of preformed Omega-3 DHA+EPA, enough
to meet the RDI for children aged 2-10 years. The LP analysis further showed that the cost of
present product is USD 0.15/100 g, which is 50% lower than that of Plumpy’nut. Laboratory
analysis revealed similar results as that of LP at P=0.05. These findings indicate that readyto-use
natural
food
rich
in
preformed
DHA
and
EPA
can
be
developed
from
locally
available
ingredients.