Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XX
Written by Osman Kadir TOPUZ
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) that belongs to the omega-3 fatty acids group. In recent years, omega-3 fatty acids rich oil has attracted much attention because of its recognized beneficial effect on human health. At present, fish oil is the major source of omega-3 fatty acids, but omega-3 fatty acids rich oils can be produced by microalgae with additional commercial benefits. Consumption of omega-3 rich fish oil has been steadily increasing for decades due to their health benefits. Microalgal oil might be the most promising alternative to fish oil, since they are the primary producers of omega-3 fatty acids. Recent advances regarding production of omega-3 fatty acid rich oil from microalgae have been reviewed with an emphasis on the scientific data. At first, description of the omega-3 fatty acids, biosynthesis pathways and their role in the human health is presented. Microalgae are the initial source of omega-3 fatty acids. Microalgae species intensively used in omega-3 fatty acids rich algal oil production and their culturing conditions were reviewed in this paper. The algal oil extraction and refining process are also presented. We present here a review of the most recent advances regarding the production of omega-3 fatty acid rich algal oil from the marine origin microalgae.
[Read full article] [Citation]
