Your involvement in this study will be required for approximately 8 weeks, 6 of which you will be required to take the Study Product daily.

To make the timings of study requirements as convenient as possible for you, we are recruiting on a rolling basis which means that your individual start date is flexible.

You will be required to attend our RDC Clinic in Brisbane 5 times during the study. Our RDC Clinic is open Monday to Saturday from 6.30am, and we offer free parking.

Please see below for further information. You can find the registration of interest form at the bottom of this page.

For this study, we are comparing the effectiveness of 4 products for increasing Omega-3 concentration. The products are:

• two different algae oils,
• one fish oil,
• and a placebo (soy oil).

After screening and enrolment, eligible participants will be asked to take 2 capsules daily for 6 weeks. Please note, as this study requires you to take capsules each day, participants must be comfortable swallowing capsules.

As this study is placebo-controlled, you will be randomly allocated to either one of the three active products or the placebo product on a chance basis. This means you will have a 3 in 4 chance of being allocated a study product containing Omega-3, and a 1 in 4 chance of being allocated the placebo. During the study period, neither you nor the study investigators will know the product you have been allocated. However, if it is necessary for your health, we can find out which product you have been allocated.

Placebos are designed to look like the real product being studied except they do not contain the active ingredient. Using a placebo helps us to be confident that any effects we measure in the active group really are due to the active ingredient and not due to the body’s own reaction to a perceived treatment.

Omega-3 has been shown to confer many health benefits such as decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and alleviating conditions that include diabetes, inflammation, and some cancers. Most Australians have a low Omega-3 level which contributes to increased inflammation and risk of disease. Omega-3 is poorly synthesised in the body, therefore requiring intake from external sources. Current Omega-3 products are largely derived from unsustainable sources of fish and krill. Therefore, new sustainable sources are being developed and studied. Algae is one potential sustainable source of Omega-3 that has emerged.

The current study aims to assess the effectiveness of a new algae derived Omega-3 supplements compared to a fish oil and placebo, on increasing Omega-3 concentrations.

Please note: This page is a summary of the study outline and participant requirements. A full Participant Information Sheet with more detailed information will be provided to you before you are asked to give your consent to participate.

During the screening period, you will be required to attend a pathology collection clinic local to you (such as Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology) for a blood test, and urine drug screen.

Once you are deemed eligible to continue with the final part of the screening, you will be asked to attend the RDC Clinic screening visit for a medical consultation. This visit will take approximately 30-40 minutes in total.

Eligible participants will be required to attend the RDC Clinic 5 times during the study including screening. Please find a summary of the requirements below…

RDC Clinic (Fortitude Valley, Brisbane)

You will be required to attend our clinic 4 times once enrolled in the study.

• The Baseline visit will be a baseline visit where you will provide a blood sample and collect your trial product. This visit will take approximately 20 minutes.
• The next 2 visits you will provide a blood sample and will take approximately 15 minutes per visit.
• At the final visit you will provide a blood sample have a final medical consultation which will take approximately 30 minutes.

The information we collect during the study will enable the investigators to assess the product’s effectiveness on increasing Omega-3 levels.

After successfully completing the study requirements, you will be eligible for a reimbursement of $370 for your time. The payment will be made via direct deposit to your nominated bank account once all study requirements have been met. Pro rata payments are also available in cases of early withdrawal.

If you would like to participate, we’d love to hear from you. Please register your interest by answering the questionnaire and completing the form on this page…we’ll then get in touch to screen you for eligibility.

Our clinic is located on Level 3, 252 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley. 

 We have free undercover parking for participants directly next door under the Kennigo Hotel, 22 Kennigo Street, Fortitude Valley.

 Getting to Us

• Private Transport: free undercover parking available at Kennigo Hotel Car Park
• Train: Fortitude Valley Train Station (350m away)
• Bus: multiple bus stops within close proximity

As this study is assessing Omega-3 levels, it is important that participants have an Omega-3 index of less than 4%. You don’t need to know what your Omega-3 index is, as we will test this as part of the screening process; however, people regularly taking Omega-3 supplements (within the last 2 months) or regularly consuming oily fish will not be eligible to participate.  Oily fish high in Omega-3s include salmon, mackerel, halibut, sardines, tuna and trout.

• Adults 18 – 64 years old
• Not currently eating oily fish more than once per week
• Not regularly taking (more than once per week) any Omega-3 supplements in the last two months
• Generally healthy with no uncontrolled serious illnesses
• Have a BMI of 18 – 30 kg/m2 (Please use the BMI calculator on this page)
• Able to provide informed consent
• Able to commit to completing the study requirements

Please register your interest by answering the questionnaire and completing the form on this page… we’ll then get in touch to screen you for suitability.

BMI Calculator

Please note: This page is a summary of the study outline and participant requirements. A full Participant Information Sheet with more detailed information will be provided to you before you are asked to give your consent to participate.

This RDC Clinical study has been approved by the Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee under Approval Number: 2024-03-374. The study is also registered on the clinicaltrials.gov under Registration Number: NCT06629103.

Trained Trial Co-ordinators will supervise your progress throughout the study. Your results will be made available to you at the conclusion of the study. Any of your personal information collected during the study will be kept in the strictest confidence.