Abstract (EN):
Chlorella vulgaris is a green microalga approved for human consumption with high biological value due to its high protein content and polyunsaturated fatty acids composition. Moreover, this microalga is rich in starch and structural polysaccharides that could have potential to be valued as food ingredients. To fulfill this hypothesis, starch digestibility was evaluated in raw and boiled biomass, showing 43% and 71% of glucose released, respectively. The low extraction yield of starch obtained with water (13%) allowed to infer protein hindrance. This was overcome by 1 M and 4 M KOH aqueous solutions that allowed to obtain an additional 51% of starch. The final residue left showed that only 16% of total starch remained unextracted. KOH solutions allowed also to obtain galactans composed by 1,3-, 1,6- and 1,3,6-linked galactose residues. These linkages were also observed in the polysaccharides recovered from the growth medium, showing similarity between the exopolysaccharides and those present in the cell wall. The extracellular polymeric material revealed immunostimulatory effect on B lymphocytes. This opens the possibility of the use of both starch and exopolysaccharides of C. vulgaris as food ingredients.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific
No. of pages:
11