Benefits and current developments of polyunsaturated fatty acids from microalgae lipids

Commercialized as nutraceuticals under the form of capsules or used as ingredients in infant food products, omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are mainly obtained from fish oil. Due to their high contain in PUFAs, microalgae ore considered as a good alternative source of these fatty acids of interest. Several studies leading to an improvement of photobioreactors and purification processes have widely contributed to reduce the costs of PUFA production from microalgae lipids. Nevertheless, in order to be economically attractive, PUFAs from microalgae need a convergence of genetic, metabolic and enzymatic trials.