The dietary supplement industry is one of the largest in the world. Due to an absence of adequate US federal regulations, some supplements have been found to have poor quality and purity. This research aims to evaluate the validity of the content and purity claims made by five fish oil supplement manufacturers. Fish oil is known to contain the important omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, but also dangerous heavy metals. By a quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, it was determined that none of the tested brands have DHA levels lower than the advertised amount. It was also determined by ICP-OES analysis that there was no detectible concentration of heavy metal contamination.

Analysis of fish oil supplements for omega-3 content and heavy metal contamination

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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