Functional dairy products enriched with omega-3 fatty acids

Abstract

A critical review was conducted on topics related to functional foods, omega-3 fatty acids, sources of omega-3 fatty acids, and types of dairy products fortified with omega-3 fatty acids. Functional foods are products enriched with special ingredients that give the food beneficial and healthy effects. Inadequate intake of functional foods is directly related to modern diseases, such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's, diabete type 2, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Omega-3 and omega-6 are polyunsaturated fatty acids. They have an important biological role for the human body. High omega-6/omega-3 ratios and high amounts of omega-6 lead to a variety of cardiovascular, cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, while high levels of omega-3 suppress the development of these diseases. Sources of omega-3 fatty acids can be from plants, fish and algae. Dairy products can be enriched with omega-3 fatty acids by modifying the animal's diet or by directly adding vegetable or fish oils. Fresh and mature dairy products enriched with plant and animal sources of omega-3 fatty acids are found in the literature. From the literature review, it was found that there are not enough studies related to the enrichment of Bulgarian dairy products with omega-3 fatty acids.