Microalgal polyunsaturated fatty acids: Hotspots and production techniques

Weixian Chen; Tianpei Li; Shuwen Du; Hui Chen; Qiang Wang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1146881

Microalgal polyunsaturated fatty acids: Hotspots and production techniques

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Mar 31:11:1146881. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1146881. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Weixian Chen¹, Tianpei Li¹, Shuwen Du², Hui Chen¹, Qiang Wang^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
² School of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, China.
³ Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.

Abstract

Algae play a crucial role in the earth's primary productivity by producing not only oxygen but also a variety of high-value nutrients. One such nutrient is polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are accumulated in many algae and can be consumed by animals through the food chain and eventually by humans. Omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs are essential nutrients for human and animal health. However, compared with plants and aquatic sourced PUFA, the production of PUFA-rich oil from microalgae is still in the early stages of exploration. This study has collected recent reports on algae-based PUFA production and analyzed related research hotspots and directions, including algae cultivation, lipids extraction, lipids purification, and PUFA enrichment processes. The entire technological process for the extraction, purification and enrichment of PUFA oils from algae is systemically summarized in this review, providing important guidance and technical reference for scientific research and industrialization of algae-based PUFA production.

Keywords: PUFA; algae; enrichment; extraction; omega-fatty acids; research hotspots.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported jointly by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFA0909600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32170138 and 31870041), the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (212300410024), the Program for Innovative Research Team (in Science and Technology) in University of Henan Province (22IRTSTHN024), and the 111 Project (#D16014).