Microalgae as Sustainable Bio-Factories of Healthy Lipids: Evaluating Fatty Acid Content and Antioxidant Activity

• Main Authors: Tiago A. Conde, Bruna F. Neves, Daniela Couto, Tânia Melo, Bruno Neves, Margarida Costa, Joana Silva, Pedro Domingues, M. Rosário Domingues
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Marine Drugs
• Subjects: microalgae; lipidomics; lipids; fatty acids; mass spectrometry; GC-MS
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/19/7/357

The demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly food sources and food ingredients is increasing, and microalgae are promoted as a sustainable source of essential and bioactive lipids, with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FA), comparable to those of fish. However, most FA screening studies on algae are scattered or use different methodologies, preventing a true comparison of its content between microalgae. In this work, we used gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) to characterize the FA profile of seven different commercial microalgae with biotechnological applications (<i>Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorococcum amblystomatis, Scenedesmus obliquus, Tetraselmis chui, Phaeodactylum tricornutum</i>, <i>Spirulina </i>sp., and<i> Nannochloropsis oceanica</i>). Screening for antioxidant activity was also performed to understand the relationship between FA profile and bioactivity. Microalgae exhibited specific FA profiles with a different composition, namely in the ω-3 FA profile, but with species of the same phylum showing similar tendencies. The different lipid extracts showed similar antioxidant activities, but with a low activity of the extracts of<i> Nannochloropsis oceanica</i>. Overall, this study provides a direct comparison of FA profiles between microalgae species, supporting the role of these species as alternative, sustainable, and healthy sources of essential lipids.