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Updated: May 31, 2026

Cultivation of Green Microalgae in Bubble Column Photobioreactors and an Assay for Neutral Lipids
Published on: January 7, 2019
LC-PUFA from photosynthetic microalgae: occurrence, biosynthesis, and prospects in biotechnology
Inna Khozin-Goldberg1, Umidjon Iskandarov, Zvi Cohen
1The French Associates Institute for Dryland Agriculture and Biotechnologies, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel. khozin@bgu.ac.il
Abstract:
Microalgae offer potential for numerous commercial applications, among them the production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs). These valuable fatty acids are important for a variety of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical purposes, and the market for these products is continually growing. An appropriate ratio of LC-PUFA of the ω-3 and ω-6 groups is vital for "healthy" nutrition, and adequate dietary intake has strong health benefits in humans. Microalgae of diverse classes are primary natural producers of LC-PUFA. This mini-review presents an introductory overview of LC-PUFA-related health benefits in humans, describes LC-PUFA occurrence in diverse microalgal classes, depicts the major pathways of their biosynthesis in microalgae, and discusses the prospects for microalgal LC-PUFA production.
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