Algae, polyunsaturated fatty acids

Frankel, E.N., Satue-Gracia, T., Meyer, A.S., and German, J.B. (2002). Oxidative stability of fish and algae oils containing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in bulk and in oil-inwater emulsions. J. Agric. Food Chem. 50,2094 099. 

Omega-3 fatty acid A polyunsaturated fatty acid whose first double bond is located three carbons from the methyl end of the fatty acid molecule. Alpha-linolenic acid is the precursor or parent compound from which other longer-chain omega-3 PUFA are synthesized, including EPA and DHA. Sources of alpha-linolenic acid include green leafy vegetables, linseed and rapeseed oils, as well as phytoplankton, algae, and fish. Scientists may also refer to this family of fatty acids as n-3 PUFA. 

The egg yolk of chickens fed the biomass of the red algae Porphyridicum sp., which constitutes a unique combination of soluble sulfated polysaccharide and polyunsaturated fatty acids (arachidonic acid and eicosapentanoic acid), tended to have reduced cholesterol (by 10%) (Ginzberg et al., 2000). 

Concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the thylakoids of blue-green algae and light-induced volatile hydrocarbon production by spheroplasts in the presence of 50 nM Cu(II)... 

Yap, C. Y. and Chen, F. (2001). Polyunsaturated fatty acids Biological significance, biosynthesis, and production by microalgae-Uke organisms. In "Algae and Their Biotechnological Potential", (F. Chen and Y. Jiang, Eds), 1-4020-0162-2, pp. 1-32. Kluver Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. 

As the number of double bonds increases in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), they produce more complex mixtures of hydroperoxides, which are easily decomposed and become very difficult to analyse quantitatively. The most important long-chain n-3 PUFA found in fish, marine and algae oils include all cw-5,8,ll,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and all ds-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The hydroperoxides produced from EPA and DHA have been identified but not quantified. By the same mechanism established for linolenate, EPA produced the eight 5-, 8-, 9-, 11-, 12-, 14-, 15- and 18-hydroperoxides. DHA produced the ten 4-, 7-, 8-, 10-, 11-, 13-, 14-, 16-, 17-and 20-hydroperoxides. 

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