Algae Oil, a Valuable Source of Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Microorganisms that generate and accumulate omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid have acquired protagonism in the last decade. Omega-3 rich diets have showed multiple positive effects in clinical and nutritional studies. Marine and freshwater eukaryotic microorganism, autotrophic and heterotrophic, showed interesting yields and are good candidates to launch an industrial bioprocess. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is typically the main goal. But other valuable fatty acids can be obtained as well, as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) or arachidonic acid (AA). Currently the primary source of DHA is fish-oil, which carries bioaccumulated persistent organic pollutants (POP). A new and clean source of omega-3 oils may be highly interesting due to the growing number of clinical studies linking positive health effects to omega-3 rich diets. These studies have proofed equivalent positive effects using fish oil and algae oil. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are bioactive lipids essential for human beings. PUFAs are poorly synthesized in superior animals, so basically LC- PUFAs are obtained from certain fish and plants. These fatty acids are ingested in reasonable amounts, as part of the daily diet. In the last couple of decades supplementation in food matrices as enriched foods (milk and other dairy products, eggs, cookies, fruit juice or olives) has become popular. These products are considered functional foods and LC-PUFAs nutraceuticals, with an increasing interest from the society. Many scientific-clinical studies have demonstrated different positive effects of such bioactive