The main purpose of taking fish oil is to ingest Omega-3 DHA and EPA, which are important fatty acids that cannot be synthesized by the human body and are very important for maintaining physiological functions. The form of fish oil currently on the market often depends on the different extraction methods. Generally speaking, it can be divided into the following three types: TG type, EE type and rTG type:
TG type fish oil (Triglyceride form)
TG type fish oil is the most traditional fish oil extraction mode. Natural fish fat mainly exists in the form of triglycerides. TG type fish oil is extracted from the subcutaneous fat of fish. After a basic refining process (including deodorization and solvent separation), the triglyceride form of fish oil is maintained as much as possible. Therefore, it is the closest to natural fish oil among the three types of fish oil.
Compared to the other two types of fish oil, the disadvantage of TG fish oil is that it has the lowest Omega-3 content, generally about 30~50%. However, because TG fish oil is closest to natural fish oil, it has better bioavailability in the human body, has the least processing steps, and is usually the lowest price.
EE fish oil (Ethyl Ester Form)
Since the content of TG fish oil is relatively low, in order to increase the content of Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, the esterification technology was derived to achieve the purpose of concentration by separating the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the fish oil.
The Omega-3 content of EE type fish oil is about 50~70%. Due to the more complicated extraction technology, the price is higher. However, because EE type fish oil is not in the triglyceride form of natural fish oil, although the content is higher, the absorption rate is worse.
rTG fish oil (Re-esterified Triglyceride)
rTG fish oil is an advanced version of EE fish oil, using more advanced extraction technology to achieve the following two purposes:
- Generally, it can increase the Omega-3 fish oil content by >80%.
- It also has the form of triglycerides, so the absorption rate is not compromised.
rTG fish oil is different from previous organic solvent extraction. It uses supercritical extraction and gas, so it can more completely preserve the nutritional value of fish oil. However, due to the high technical threshold, the purity and price of rTG fish oil are relatively high. Most of the fish oil on the market that claims to have a fish oil content of more than 80% is rTG fish oil. Regardless of its content or absorption rate, it is the highest. The only drawback is that it is more expensive.