Lecture 4. Bioactivies from Microalgae for Functional Food Applications

The world population is increasing day to day and it is expected to outreach 9.7 billion by 2050. Demand for bioactivities from natural sources rather than synthetic ones has increased in the global market. Microalgae produce various bioactivities such as lipids, fatty acids (EPA and DHA), carotenoids, amino acids, vitamins, and proteins etc. and they are used in food, feed, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical applications. These bioactivities from microalgae can be produced under various algal culture conditions such as autotrophic, mix-trophic, and heterotrophic. Microalgae are grown in raceways and photobioreactors for the production of larger quantities of bioactivities. Bioactivities from microalgae for functional foods are well accepted by consumers. However, the number of products that are launched into the market is limited compared to the potential it has for expansion. Among the industrially important species, the prominent ones are Spirulina, Chlorella, Haematococcus and Dunaliella which are cultivated for commercial applications. Extensive research was carried out by us on H. pluvialis is green microalga as it accumulates astaxanthin and astaxanthin esters which are used as food ingredients and food supplements. This presentation covered the importance of microalgal forms for functional food applications. The aspects of constituents of microalgae, cultivation methodologies, challenges in a scaleup, downstream processing, purification as well as evaluation of biological activities and product formulations will be described to highlight the industrial production scenario for present and future applications

Organogenesis from cotyledon and hypocotyl-derived explants of japhara (Bixa orellana L.)

A protocol for direct organogenesis in Bixa orellana (pink flowers variety) has been developed with significant organogenic response from rooted hypocotyls, hypocotyl segments, and cotyledonary leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0 mg L–1 thidiazuron and 0.25% coconut water or 7.0 mg L–1 N6-Benzyladenine and 0.1 mg L–1 a-naphthalene acetic acid. Thidiazuron in combination with coconut water promoted higher organogenic response in rooted hypocotyls. Similarly direct organogenesis was noticed from hypocotyls, cotyledonary leaf explants and shoot tip explants on half MS medium with 0.25 mg L–1 N6-Benzyladenine (BA) and 0.5 mg L–1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Best shoot elongation of shoot buds was achieved in the presence of 1.5 mg L–1 (BA) + 1.0 mg L–1indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The in vitro rooting of microshoots was good in the presence of 3.0 mg L–1 (IBA). Seventy percent of rooted plants survived after acclimatization

Augmentation of major isoflavones in Glycine max L. through elicitor- mediated approach

Isoflavone content in soybean seeds was enhanced by the elicitor-mediated approach under field conditions through the floral application of abiotic elicitors-salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate and biotic elicitors-Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus oligosporus. Among isoflavones, daidzein and glycitein were found to be highly responsive to elicitors, with an increase of 53.7% and 78.7%, respectively as compared to control. Highest total isoflavone content (1276.4 mg g–1 of seeds) was observed upon the administration of 0.1 mM salicylic acid, which is 92.7% higher than in control. This study would be valuable for augmentation of the isoflavone content in soybean seeds in field grown plants for better nutraceutical potential

Microbial Astaxanthin Production from Agro-Industrial Wastes—Raw Materials, Processes, and Quality

The antioxidant and food pigment astaxanthin (AX) can be produced by several microorganisms, in auto- or heterotrophic conditions. Regardless of the organism, AX concentrations in culture media are low, typically about 10–40 mg/L. Therefore, large amounts of nutrients and water are necessary to prepare culture media. Using low-cost substrates such as agro-industrial solid and liquid wastes is desirable for cost reduction. This opens up the opportunity of coupling AX production to other existing processes, taking advantage of available residues or co-products in a biorefinery approach. Indeed, the scientific literature shows that many attempts are being made to produce AX from residues. However, this brings challenges regarding raw material variability, process conditions, product titers, and downstream processing. This text overviews nutritional requirements and suitable culture media for producing AX-rich biomass: production and productivity ranges, residue pretreatment, and how the selected microorganism and culture media combinations affect further biomass production and quality. State-of-the-art technology indicates that, while H. pluvialis will remain an important source of AX, X. dendrorhous may be used in novel processes using residues