Manufacturing Process: Vegepa

All efforts have been taken at every level of the manufacturing process to ensure that the ingredients in Vegepa are of the highest quality. As such, we are careful to source ingredients from reputable and fully-accredited suppliers. The origin and condition of the raw oils, even before they undergo the rigorous purification process, is of paramount importance. Vegepa is GMP-accredited and manufactured under pharmaceutical control.

The omega-3 fatty acid EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) derives from fish – the highest yielding source of EPA available. As a general rule it is always best to obtain essential nutrients from food but there are several reasons why it is not advisable to obtain omega-3 solely through food or ordinary fish oil supplements:

• The omega-3 fatty acid EPA naturally occurs in oily fish but vast quantities would have to be consumed to acquire the amounts needed for a sustained health benefit. Unfortunately this could also mean exposure to pollutants, dioxins and PCBs. In a study published in Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the authors write: "Fish oils provide the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids without the risk of toxicity.” [i]
   
• Fish oil is rich in vitamin A. One would not be able to obtain the recommended levels of EPA for a sustained health benefit without consuming excessive amounts of  ordinary fish oil capsules or eating very high amounts of fish, both of which raise concerns about developing vitamin A toxicity. Igennus’ purification process removes all traces of vitamin A.
   
• Most fish oil supplements contain DHA and EPA (both omega-3 fatty acids) – clinical research shows that as the ratio of EPA to DHA increases in a supplement so does its efficacy. Vegepa has the highest ratio possible as it contains EPA and no DHA.
   
• Most fish oil is extracted from the liver – an excretory organ containing concentrated amounts of pollutants. The EPA in OmegaForce is taken from the flesh of the fish.
   
• For reasons of cost-effectiveness, fish oil is often derived from larger species that are higher in the food chain, but these also contain a greater concentration of pollutants. Our ultra-pure EPA is derived from small, short-lived marine anchovies from the clean waters of the South Pacific Ocean, to minimise pollutant bioaccumulation. The oil undergoes molecular distillation, carefully extracted at a cold temperature to ensure the utmost purity. All other substances are discarded as waste, including the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. The EPA is then left undamaged owing to the low temperature and absence of oxygen.

Even before the EPA in Vegepa undergoes the rigorous distillation process to remove all impurities, every care has been taken to ensure that it is as pure as possible.  
The omega-6 fatty acid GLA comes from evening primrose oil (EPO), which is extracted from the seeds of the evening primrose plant. Unlike most preparations, we carefully source organic extra-virgin EPO, derived from a cold-pressing process which involves no heat or chemicals, both of which can degrade the oil.   Leaving the oil in as natural a state as possible, it is a rich source of the omega-6 GLA and phyto nutrients including ’triterpenes’.

Quoting Professor B.K. Puri, "Given the potential benefits of the triterpenes esters, it is suggested that such a cold-pressed, non-raffinated commercially available evening primrose oil product is likely to have greater health benefits than conventional evening primrose oil preparations." (Puri, B.K. The clinical advantages of cold-pressed non-raffinated evening primrose oil over refined preparations, Med. Hyboxheses, 2004;62(1):116-8.)

^{[i] Foran Melanson, S. , Lewandrowski,E.L.,Flood, J.G.,  Lewandrowski, K.B.,  Measurement of Organochlorines in Commercial Over-the-Counter Fish Oil Preparations: Implications for Dietary and Therapeutic Recommendations for Omega-3 Fatty Acids and a Review of the Literature,Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine: 2005 Vol. 129, No. 1, pp. 74-77. (2005;129:74-77)}