Abstract
This study evaluates the growth and chemical composition of the following marine microalgae: Dunaliella tertiolecta, Isochrysis galbana, and Tetraselmis gracilis and the chemical composition of Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Microalgae can produce a number of compounds of high commercial value for the industry, mainly for the food industry. The growth kinetics, cell volume, pigments, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and fatty acid and amino acid composition were evaluated. I. galbana had the largest number of cells per mL-1 (107), concentration of carotenoids (6.33 μg·mL-1), and carbohydrates (34.32%). D. tertiolecta and T. gracilis had the highest cell volume (560.6 and 592.7 μm3, respectively), the highest amount of total dry biomass. D. tertiolecta had the highest chlorophyll concentration (9.05 μg·mL-1), and C. pyrenoidosa had the highest protein (48.16%) and lipid (14.30%) content. The marine species D. Tertiolecta, I. galbana, and T. gracilis had high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (C18:1 n9), and C. pyrenoidosa was high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:2 n6 and C18:3 n3), indicating the present high nutritional value fatty acids. The microalgae studies showed a composition of amino acids that meet the nutritional requirements recommended by the FAO g·100 g-1 (FAO/WHO/UN, 1985) for adults and children (2 - 5 years), indicating that these proteins can be used in foods.
Highlights
Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms with simple growing requirements
The aim of the present study is to investigate the morphological characteristics and chemical composition of some species of microalgae as well as their use as food
A total of 107 cel/mL was found for I. galbana and 106 cells/mL for D. tertiolecta and T. gracilis
Summary
Its biomass can be used to produce human dietary supplements, animal feed and others. The demand for health beneficial substances has been growing on the world market, and most species studied produce optimal concentrations of compounds with high commercial value and interest to the food industry such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, enzymes, antibiotics, vitamins, and pigments. The Microalgae D. tertiolecta, I. galbana and T. gracilis are flagellated marine species. The T. gracilis presents rapid growth and high tolerance to growing conditions, being mainly produced to feed aquatic organisms. I. galbana is rich in chlorophyll, carotenoids (fucoxanthin, β-carotene, diadinoxantin, diatoxantin) and crisolaminarin (polysaccharide derived glucose glycosidic type β-1,3). The freshwater specie C. pyrenoidosa, not flagellated, is rich in chlorophyll and is already being marketed as vitamin supplement in human nutrition [15,16,17,18]
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