Benefits of Omega-3 Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplements are hindered by their poor solubility and bioavailability. This study investigated the bioavailability of various formulations of Omega-3 and tocopheryl phosphate mixture (TPM), following oral administration in rats, and assessed whether TPM could improve the oral absorption of DHA. The rats were administered with a high (265.7 mg/kg) or low dose (88.6 mg/kg) of DHA. TPM was examined at 1:0.1 w/w (low TPM dose) and 1:0.5 w/w (high TPM dose). Over 24 h, the DHA plasma concentration followed a TPM dose-dependent relationship, reflected in the higher mean Cmax values (78.39 and 91.95 μg/mL) and AUC values (1396.60 and 1560.60) for the low and high TPM, respectively. The biggest difference between the low dose DHA control (LDCont) and TPM formulations was at 4 h after supplementation, where the low and high TPM showed a mean 20% (ns) and 50% (p < 0.05) increase in DHA plasma concentrations versus the control formulation. After correcting for baseline endogenous DHA, the mean plasma DHA at 4 h produced by the LD-HTPM was nearly double (90%) the LDC control (p = 0.057). This study demonstrated that co-administering omega-3 with TPM significantly increases the bioavailability of DHA in the plasma, suggesting potential use for commercially available TPM + DHA fortified products.
Keywords: DHA; omega-3; tocopheryl phosphate mixture (TPM).