Screening of fatty acid composition in Nitzschia sp.

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The main target of this study was to compare the effects of nitrogen limitation and light intensities on cell growth, lipid content and fatty acid profile of Nitzschia sp. Methods F/2 medium and N-free F/2 medium were both tested at two different light intensities of 11 and 56 μEm−2s−1 in the internal loop air-lift photobioreactor for Nitzschiasp. Results The presence of nitrogen led to more cells grown efficiently. Furthermore, the increase in chlorophyll content went parallel to the increase in dry weight. The most abundant saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) and palmitoleic acid (C16:1) which constituted 17%–42% and 15%–48% of total fatty acids for all growth conditions, respectively. It was recorded that palmitoleic acid was present at higher concentrations than palmitic acid. Discussion and conclusion The noteworthy finding was that the lipid content increased with increasing the growth rate of Nitzschia sp. under phototrophic conditions.