The clinical study is part of University of Oxford’s DOLAB trial funded by a grant from DSM Nutritional Products.
The study primarily focused on DSM’s algal DHA omega-3 oil’s benefits on reading performance, working memory and behaviour in healthy school-aged children.
DHA supplementation is expected to improve reading in healthy but underperforming children from mainstream schools, according to lead researchers of the study.
University of Oxford senior research fellow and lead investigator Alex Richardson said poor reading skills as a child impact all learning and can lead to a host of problems in adulthood.
"The DHA Oxford Learning and Behavior (DOLAB) trial showed that taking daily algal DHA supplements improved reading performance for the worst readers, and helped these children catch up with their peer group," Richardson added.
The study results were published in the PLoS ONE journal.