Bioscience firm creates safflower rich in healthy oil - 2005-11-14 - Sacramento Business Journal

Bioscience firm creates safflower rich in healthy oil - 2005-11-14 - Sacramento Business Journal: "Bioscience firm creates safflower rich in healthy oil
Arcadia Biosciences Inc. of Davis says it has developed safflower plants with a higher concentration of a fatty acid that promotes better health.
Arcadia said the plants' seeds contain more than 35 percent gamma linolenic acid oil, or GLA, an omega-6 fatty acid that might help improve conditions ranging from high blood pressure and premenstrual syndrome to eczema, rheumatoid arthritis and general inflammation.
A study released by Northwestern University researchers Nov. 1 also indicates that GLA inhibits a gene responsible for almost 30 percent of all breast cancers, Arcadia said in a press release today.
The two main sources of dietary GLA are evening primrose oil and borage oil, which contain about 10 percent and 20 percent GLA, respectively. Those plants are also difficult to cultivate commercially, Arcadia said, making the oils expensive to produce and unreliable in supply.
'Current concentration and cost issues have constrained widespread use' of GLA, said Arcadia president Eric Rey in a statement. 'By developing safflower plants that produce seeds that contain high levels of GLA, we can make the health-promoting benefits of the omega-6 fatty acid more available to the people who need them.'
The company employs 43 and has other operations in Seattle and Phoenix.
Arcadia said it expects to broadly commercialize GLA-enriched safflower oil in 2008, and is now validating the results of its safflower research in the field.
The company said it is also developing higher-yielding plants that use less nitrogen fertilizer, salt-tolerant plants, and longer-lasting fresh produce. "