Microalgae fatty acids

Analysis of 7 strains of microalgae fatty acid group... 

The red microalga genus Porphyridium is a source of biochemicals possessing nutritional and therapeutic values. The biochemicals include polysaccharides that have anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids such as zeaxanthin, and fluorescent phycobiliproteins. 

Another commercially available product containing naturally occurring marine products is Formulaid , produced by Martek Biosciences as a nutritional supplement for infant formulas. Formulaid contains two fatty acids, arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), extracted from a variety of marine microalgae. ARA and DHA are the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids found in breast milk, and they are the most important fatty acids used in the development of brain gray matter. They are especially desirable for use in infant formulas because they come from nonmeat sources and can be advertised as vegetarian additives to the product. 

Desvilettes, C., Bourdier, G, Amblard, C., and Barth, B. (1997) Use of fatty acids for the assessment of zooplankton grazing on bacteria, protozoans, and microalgae. Freshwat. Biol. 38, 629-637. 

Viso, A. C., and Marty, J.C. (1993) Fatty acids from 28 marine microalgae. Phytochemistry 34, 1521-1533. 

An integrated process for highly purified PUFAs from microalgae has been developed at the University of Almeria (Molina Grima et al., 1996). The process basically employs solvent extraction, phase separation, urea adduction of fatty acids, and chromatographic separation of PUFA rich fraction the process is summarized in Figure 26.1. The same is applicable to recovery of PUFA rich lipid fractions from seaweeds as well. 

Phytoplanktonic microalgae, which are important sources of food in both oceans and fresh water habitats, use an activated form of chemical defense to reduce grazing by predators. Damaged microalgal cells convert unsaturated fatty acids into unsaturated aldehydes which affect reproductive outcomes in herbivorous cope-pods and other planktonic grazers.30 Representative products of these biotransformations include the C10 aldehydes 1 and 2 in the diatom Thalassiosira rotula, and Cg diene hydrocarbons and the trienoic acid aldehyde 3 in Asterionella formosa.31... 

The best current sources of EPA would appear to be the photosynthetic microalgae, of which Porphyridium cruentum, Isochrysis galbana, Nannochloropsis ocu-lata, and Phaeodactylum tricomutum appear to be the prime candidates (84—87). All produce oils with EPA between 25% and 38% of the total fatty acids (see... 

In all cases, the amounts of the various PUFA were relatively low, although for DHGLA, the amount reached 23% of the total fatty acids. Some of the above PUFAs also occur in small amounts in various marine microalgae, although no routes to optimize their commercial productions have been indicated. 

Zeller, S., Barclay, W. and Abril, R. (2001) Production of docosahexaenoic acid from microalgae In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Chemistry, Nutrition and Health Effects. (Shahidi, F. and Finley, J.W., eds.) Washington, D.C. American Chemical Society, Oxford University Press, pp. 108-124. 

K.S. Wang, T.J. Chai (1994). Reduction in omega-3 fatty acids by UV-B irradiation in microalgae. J. Appl. Phycol, 6, 415-421. 

We studied the extraction of lipids from algae (Isochrysis galbana Parke) to verify the possibility to enrich EPA, DHA or other omega-3 fatty acids for healthy products or pharmaceutical application (35). We found that the SFs allow the extraction of lipids from microalgae with interesting fatty acid composition and good extraction yield in comparison with traditional solvents. 

Ginzberg, A. et al. (2000). Chickens fed with biomass of the red microalga Porphyridicum sp. have reduced blood cholesterol level and modified fatty acid composition in egg yolk, J. Appl. PhycoL, 12, 325. 

In other environments, other microalgae may contribute significantly to the 22 6co3 pool. In Trinity Bay, dinofiagellates were found to be a relatively more important source of fatty acid material before and after the spring bloom (Fig. 3 b). 

In nature, astaxanthin is usually found either conjugated to proteins (as in the flesh of salmon or in the lobster carapace) or esterified with fatty acids (as in Haematococcus pluvialis microalgae). In contrast, synthetic astaxanthin is produced in the free form. Synthetic, algae-based, and yeast-based (from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous) astaxanthins are distinct in their stereoisomeric compositions as well." Synthetic astaxanthin, as well as all three significant natural sources Haematococcus, Xanthophyllomyces, and extracted cmstacean shells), are used widely as feed additives." Human dietary astaxanthin supplements derived from these three natural sources have also been marketed in recent years. " ... 

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