Scientists at the University of Moncton hope new research will allow them to extract the seeds from a weed to produce health oils similar to omega-3.

The federal government will invest $3 million in the project over the next five years through the Atlantic Innovation Fund.

Biochemist Marc Surette said the university laboratory wants to use Buglossoides arvensis, a plant that produces oily seeds, as a substitute for omega-3.

"The omega-3 fatty acids that you really want are found in fish oils," Surette said. "The problem is that fish oils are becoming more and more scarce."

If successful, the plant oil could eventually replace the omega-3 that comes from fish, Surette said.

"To have a vegetable source of oils that metabolically are similar to fish oil, in other words when you eat them your body uses them in the same way, would really be a boon," he said.

The university will also be looking at developing a bacteria that would help the plant produce more seeds, Surette said.

The plants will be grown in the St. John River Valley and the oils will be tested to see how well they work on humans. Surette said he expects the product to be available on the market within a few years.