Liquid egg whites with omega-3 on the market.

Martek Biosciences is making available liquid egg whites containing Martek[TM] DHA. The eggs are available through Gold Circle Farms. Derived from marine algae, Martek DHA is a vegetarian source of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which is an omega-3 fatty acid.

DHA supports brain, eye and cardiovascular health throughout life. Numerous scientific studies demonstrate that the general public may benefit from an adequate supply of DHA in the diet. Because primary dietary sources of DHA are limited to fatty fish, the U.S. diet has one of the world's lowest levels of DHA: less than one-third of the recommended consumption for healthy adults. The new liquid eggs can provide an alternate dietary source of DHA.

Gold Circle Farms liquid eggs are made with egg whites from vegetarian-fed hens, and are enhanced with the vitamins and nutrients that would otherwise be found in egg yolk. The liquid eggs are free of fat and cholesterol and are also available in a cage-free variety. Hidden Villa Ranch, Fullerton, CA, is the exclusive provider of Gold Circle Farms DHA Omega-3 eggs and has more than 50 business relationships with egg farmers across the United States.

Martek Biosciences develops, manufactures and sells products sourced from microalgae. The company's products include: specialty, nutritional oils for infant formula that aid in the development of the eyes and the central nervous system in newborns; nutritional supplements and food ingredients that may play a beneficial role in promoting mental and cardiovascular health throughout life; and fluorescent markers for diagnostics, rapid miniaturized screening, and gene and protein detection.

In the past year, company researchers have made progress identifying and transferring the algal genes responsible for DHA production into plants to create a future inexpensive DHA oil seed. Enrollment has been completed in two cardiovascular studies focused on determining DHA's effect on triglycerides and high density lipoprotein cholesterol. If results of these trials are consistent with earlier small trials, they should focus attention on DHA as the primary beneficial omega-3 fatty acid for cardiovascular health and provide important evidence that DHA can lower two major cardiovascular risk factors without side effects. These trials also could set the stage for future combination therapies involving statin drugs.

Further information. Beth Parker, Martek Biosciences Corp., 6480 Dobbin Rd., Columbia, MD 21045; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].