Process for the selective production of polyunsaturated fatty acids from a culture of microalgae of the porphyridium cruentum
AssigneesCommissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Societe USSI
InventorsCatherine Thepenier, Claude Gudin, Bruno Sarrobert
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Abstract
The invention relates to a process for the selective production of polyunsaturated fatty acids from a culture of microalgae of Porphyrium cruentum. The process comprises growing a biomass by culturing the microalgae in a photobioreactor under optimum culturing conditions, removing a portion of the resulting biomass, and subjecting the removed portion to a temperature decrease. The result is the selective increase in the quantity of a given polyunsaturated fatty acid within the microalgae biomass.
Claims9
A process for the selective production of polyunsaturated fatty acids from a culture of microalgae of Porphyridium cruentum comprising:
- i) culturing Porphyridium cruentum suspended in a liquid culture medium, in a closed, tubular photobioreactor, wherein said culture medium is adapted for the culture of Porphyridium cruentum, having an NaCl concentration above 0.2M, at a temperature of between approximately 20 and 30 degrees Celsius to form a biomass;
- ii) removing from said photobioreactor at least a part of said biomass;
- iii) cooling the removed biomass to a temperature of between approximately 4.degree. and 15.degree. C. for a period of at least 12 hours, thereby effecting an increase of the ratio of C 20:5 to C 20:4 unsaturated fatty acids in said removed biomass as compared to the ratio prior to the application of cooling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.