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The fatty acid composition of three unicellular algal species used as food sources for larvae of the American oyster ( Crassostrea virginica )
Author(s) -
Chu FuLin E.,
Dupuy John L.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02533551
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , crassostrea , biology , oyster , chlorella , fatty acid , algae , isochrysis galbana , oleic acid , botany , food science , linolenic acid , linoleic acid , biochemistry , ecology
The total lipid and fatty acid content of 3 algal species, Pyramimonas virginica, Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa and Chlorella sp., which have been successful as food sources for rearing larvae of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica , was determined. Of the fatty acids of ω6 and ω3 families which have been shown to be essential fatty acids for normal growth in many animals, only the ω6 fatty acids were found to be higher in these 3 species of algae than in the traditional oyster larvae diet which consists of the algae Monochrysis lutheri and Isochrysis galbana . The major fatty acid constituents of the total lipids of the 3 species were the C12, C14, C16 and C18 saturated fatty acids and the C16 and C18 mono‐ and polyunsaturated acids. These components constituted 70–93% of the total lipid in cultures of all ages. There were modest amounts of C20 and C22 polyunsaturated acids; some of these existed only in trace amounts. In P. virginica and Chlorella sp., hexadecanoic acid was dominant (23–39%). The presence of large quantities of tetradecanoic acid (22–26%) and oleic acid (17–21%) was characteristic of P. paradoxa. Chlorella sp. had the highest proportion of octadecatrienoic acid (18∶3ω3) which accounted for up to 17% of the total lipids. γ‐Linolenic acid (18∶3ω6) was found only in Chlorella sp., but in the 5th‐day culture only. The lowest proportion of total polyethylenic acid was in P. paradoxa ; however, lipid analyses showed this alga had the most lipid/individual cell. Some variations were observed in the fatty acid composition with age of the culture.