Nutritional and organoleptic evaluations of the by-products from chlorella vulgaris after lipid extraction

Abstract

Marine alga, Chlorella vulgaris, was extracted by chloroform-methanol (2:1, v/v) solvents for lipid extraction at 35°C for five hours (HCM-35) and its process was compared with conventional lipid extraction condition such as chloroform-methanol (2:1, v/v) at 65°C for one hour (CM-65). This low temperature extraction process showed that 80% of total lipid was extracted and its residues contained relatively unchanged amounts of intact proteins and other minerals as well as amino acid profiles. Interestingly enough, the weight fraction of carbohydrate in the residues slightly increased due to less denaturation at low process temperature. The biological activities of the residues such as cytotoxicity and immune cell growth activation were not much changed after being extracted. The sensory evaluation were found to be very favorable for being used as a food additive and/or food supplement. This result could also help to maintain the economic feasibility of utilizing marine resources in food and other relevant industries.