Pronova Biopharma Norge As

Basf As

Sverre Sondbø

Olav Thorstad

The present invention refers to a process for reducing the amount of undesired components in an oil composition, particularly in an oil composition comprising omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The process of the present invention provides efficient removal of undesired water-soluble (hydrophilic) components and undesired fat-soluble (lipophilic) components from an oil composition in order to obtain a purified concentrate, e.g. a highly purified concentrate enriched in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Removal of undesired components from oil compositions

The invention relates to a process for decreasing the amount of cholesterol in a mixture comprising a marine oil, the marine oil containing the cholesterol, which process comprises the steps of adding a volatile working fluid to the mixture, where the volatile working fluid comprises at least one of a fatty acid ester, a fatty acid amide and a hydrocarbon, and subjecting the mixture with the added volatile working fluid to at least one stripping processing step, in which an amount of cholesterol present in the marine oil in free form is separated from the mixture together with the volatile working fluid. The present invention also relates to a volatile cholesterol decreasing working fluid and a health supplement and a pharmaceutical, based on a marine oil, prepared according to the process mentioned above.

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Sandefjord, Norway

Sverre Sondbø