Vital parameters for biomass, lipid, and carotenoid production of thraustochytrids

Abstract

Thraustochytrids have recently gained attention owing to their widespread applications in biodiesel production, biomedicine, and nutraceutical industries. They have a promising capability to produce high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including health-benefiting docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and saturated fatty acid (SFA) which are renewable sources of biofuels. Since biofuels are an economical and renewable alternative source of energy to fossil fuels, lipid biofactories have become the centre of attention in the field of industrial biotechnology. Although thraustochytrids are a valuable source of bioenergy and biomedical products, their optimal use has some challenges and limitations to overcome. The originality of the current review lies in the evaluation of relevant literature on the upstream and downstream processing of thraustochytrids to provide background knowledge for future researchers to enhance the growth rate, product synthesis, and scale-up to an industrial level of thraustochytrids.