Chennai-based ABL Biotechnologies Ltd is investing Rs 40 crore to establish India’s first and the world’s second facility for the production of the essential fatty acid DHA, (Docasa Hexaenoic Acid) at Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu. Production will begin next year and ABL plans to retail DHA in the form of capsules and fortified foods from 2009.
According to K O Isaac, managing director of the company, ABL is the second producer of DHA in the world and the technology for this project has been developed under ABL.
”This upgraded facility will enable ABL to produce DHA at lower costs and higher productivity. ABL’s work centers around a variant of the organism `Schizochitrium sp’ which is isolated from eastern cost of India and this source has been approved and classified by the USFDA to be GRAS,” he said.
DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid; all the fatty acids which are essential in the human diet are either omega-3 or omega-6. The omega-3 and omega-6 family of fatty acids are essential because they cannot be synthesized in the body, but must be obtained in the diet.
Almost 60% of heart attacks occur without warning due to irregular heartbeats which the fatty acid DHA ) can prevent. DHA can also benefit the mind as DHA is highly concentrated in membranes of brain synapses and in the retina of the eye. DHA declines in brain cell (neuron) membranes with aging may result in declining mental function. DHA requirements for brain development in the late-stage foetus and newborn are so critical that slight deficiencies can have a life-long impact on intelligence.
DHA is important in the pre-natal and post-natal stage for optimal infant brain, eye and nervous system development. Additionally, some research suggests that adequate levels of DHA in the maternal diet may play a role in helping a mother’s emotional well-being after birth.
ABL Biotechnologies, is a publicly held company and a pioneer in microbial metabolites. It has been working on identification and commercial extraction of bio-chemicals, predominantly from microbes, that have far reaching applications as nutritional, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and industrial intermediates.
ABL has a basket of 175 formulations at present catering to various segments ranging from pediatrics, pregnancy, diabetes, cardiology, ophthalmology and dermatology.
These are marketed to the pharmaceutical industry in India.