SCREENING OF ALGAE FOR POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID

A variety of algal strains obtained from culture collections or isolated from freshwater reservoirs in Thailand, were screened for their capacity to produce eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Highest EPA content, as a percentage of total fatty acids, was produced by Chlorella minutissima UTEX 2341 and Phaeodactylum tricornutum UTEX 640 (31.8% and 30.5% w/w, respectively). Phaeodactylum tricornutum produced very high biomass in culture (2484.5 mg l-1) and overall EPA yield per litre of culture was much higher than that of any other strain tested. The content of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid, in the best EPA producers was low, or negligible, which has important advantages in simplifying EPA recovery. None of the algal cultures isolated from Thailand produced EPA or DHA; palmitic, cleic, linoleic and linolenic acids were the major fatty acid components in these isolates.