What stands out here is not just the nutrient blend, but the evidence gap between a promising mechanism and a finished health claim. The article points to small pilot data and preclinical findings, which can suggest biological activity, but they do not by themselves prove that a broader population will experience meaningful brain, heart, skin, or metabolic benefits.
The combination idea is plausible. Omega-3s are already associated with triglycerides, blood pressure and other cardiometabolic markers, while other fatty acids may act through different tissues or pathways. That kind of complementarity is an interesting hypothesis, but it is still a hypothesis. When a product is described as helping multiple systems at once, readers should look for human trials that test real outcomes, not just short-term biomarkers or surrogate measures.
Skin findings deserve especially careful reading. Redness, water loss and imaging scores can be useful research endpoints, yet they are not the same as treating a diagnosed skin condition. Lifestyle factors, cleansing routines, sun exposure and participant variability can all influence results, which is why pilot studies are best viewed as early signals rather than proof of effectiveness.
For consumers, the practical question is whether a more complex oil is clearly better than a standard omega-3 supplement. That cannot be answered from marketing language alone. The main value of this story is as a reminder to separate a biologically interesting formulation from the harder question of comparative benefit, dose, safety and who is most likely to notice a difference.
orway’s marine ingredients company Epax unveils Omega 3-9-11, which offers all the benefits normally associated with omega-3 supplementation, including heart and brain health, while omegas 9 and 11 offer benefits to skin and metabolic health.
According to Epax, Omega 3-9-11 is the most concentrated version of an oil combining both EPA and DHA — long-chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) — and the less familiar long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (LC-MUFAs), omegas 9 and 11, derived from pelagic fish from the North Atlantic.
“Epax has been working for a number of years on fatty acids longer than DHA – so-called Very Long Chain Fatty Acids,” Derek Tobin, PhD, business development and clinical science manager at Epax, tells Nutrition Insight.” These have a unique biological activity with essential roles in vision, dry eye, skin health and fertility. The oils have tremendous potential, and we look forward to presenting them in the near future.”
Derek Tobin, PhD, business development and clinical science manager at Epax (Image Credit: Expax).Skin health
The product, created for nutraceuticals, has shown potential in the skin health category, with EPA and DHA reducing UV-induced inflammation and omega-9 and omega-11-rich cetoleic oils reducing skin redness. “Data from an independent skin study shows that redness, a proxy for inflammation, was statistically less in those taking fish oil with omega-9 and 11,” Tobin elaborates.
“The skin study using Epax Cetoleic 10 oil, the precursor to Omega 3-9-11, was performed with 28 female participants using the VISIA imaging system for quantitative analysis of skin quality,” he continues.
“The women were given either fish oil or a placebo for three months. Great care was taken to treat the participants equally and to make them comfortable and relaxed. They all underwent the same skin cleaning protocol and were asked not to wear makeup on the day. This detail to quality prevented ‘skin flushing,’ for example, when you run to the bus or on a particularly cold windy day, which could lead to false readings.”
Tobin explains that this pilot study and the results encouraged Epax to focus their further research on people with confirmed inflammation of the skin, such as eczema. “Epax is currently supporting a study with oil enriched in omega-9 and omega-11 to determine their effect on eczema.”
“Trans-epithelial-water-loss will be measured, which is an important physiological function with important cosmetic effects. This study will also look at the lipid composition of the skin and inflammatory biomarkers. In other words, this larger study will provide information on skin health from a cosmetic or qualitative aspect and also a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which it works.”
Metabolic health
In preclinical studies, metabolic health parameters have been to have improve the most with a combination of LC-MUFAs and LC-PUFAs than with each lipid on its own, according to the company.
“Omega-3 and omegas 9 and 11 all have anti-inflammatory effects. This leads to whether there is an added benefit of having both oil types. Preliminary evidence in metabolic health studies suggests that combining these oils does improve health benefits to a greater extent than giving the oils alone,” Tobin continues.
“Studies that cetoleic rich oils reduce LDL-cholesterol and regulate insulin and glucose levels, areas where LC-PUFAs are less effective. Omega-3 fatty acids’ main activity in cardiometabolic health is on triglyceride levels, increase in HDL cholesterol, and improved blood pressure, areas not considered to be impacted by LC-MUFAs.”
“In this way, there is complementarity in the effects, and a mix of oils provides a more holistic metabolic protection,” he asserts.
Tobin suggests that one hypothesis for this action is that omega-3 has greater effects in the liver than in fat tissue, whereas the opposite is true for omega-9 and 11.
“If this is confirmed, it could explain the different actions seen with these lipids. Skin is the largest organ in the body and is composed partly of subcutaneous fat – the largest fat stored in the body. Any specific anti-inflammatory effect in fat could have a significant impact on the skin.”
Omega 3-9-11 is produced using
Epax’s EQP+ Tech, a next-level distillation process, which allows the isolation and increase of the omegas 3, 9 and 11 content — Omega 3-9-11 contains a minimum of 720 mg/g of these fatty acids.
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