Driven by growing prevalence of chronic diseases and consumer’s health awareness, food supplements and nutraceuticals based on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are extensively marketed nowadays. However, commercial omega-3 concentrates still present quality issues related to their purity, bioavailability, and easily-oxidizable nature, compelling the industry to seek for more efficient extraction, concentration and formulation methods. Technologies based on the use of supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) are a promising alternative, replacing conventional organic solvents and providing milder conditions and an inert atmosphere, which reduce the risk of oxidation. The present review analyzes the latest advances on the use of scCO₂ for processing omega-3 PUFAs, focusing on its application in biorefinery strategies for the valorization of fish by-products. Still, further research on process fundamentals is necessary in order to increase the omega-3 yield and purity while reducing the use of energy and auxiliary materials, especially in the transesterification and concentration steps.

在慢性病流行和消费者健康意识的驱动下，如今，基于omega-3多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）的食品补充剂和营养保健品广泛投放市场。然而，商用omega-3浓缩物仍然存在与其纯度，生物利用度和易氧化性质有关的质量问题，迫使工业界寻求更有效的提取，浓缩和配制方法。基于超临界CO ₂（scCO ₂）的使用技术是一种有前途的替代方法，可代替传统的有机溶剂并提供较温和的条件和惰性气氛，从而降低了氧化风险。本文对使用scCO ₂的最新进展进行了分析。用于处理omega-3 PUFA，重点是将其应用于鱼精炼产品增值的生物精炼策略中。仍然需要对工艺基础进行进一步研究，以提高omega-3的收率和纯度，同时减少能源和辅助材料的使用，尤其是在酯交换和浓缩步骤中。