Abstract
Three species of microalga, the freshwater Euglena gracilis and the marine Dunaliella salina and Tetraselmis suecica, were compared in terms of vitamin E enrichment and survival and growth of the brine shrimp Artemia salina. The tocopherol content was investigated using HPLC for the post-larval and pre-adult stages of Artemia fed the microalgae and the results compared to the initial content of unfed newly hatched nauplii. There was a markedly higher content of tocopherols (about two-fold) in Artemia fed Euglena. Since this microalga contains other antioxidants such as β-carotene, vitamin C and glutathione, bioactive molecules such as PUFA, and the immunostimulant polysaccharide β-glucan, it represents a valuable alternative for enriching the diets of Artemia and increase its nutritional value as a food item.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barsanti L., Bastianini A., Passarelli V., Tredici M. and Gualtieri P. 2000. Fatty acid content in wild type and WZSL mutant of Euglena gracilis. J. appl. Phycol. 12: 1–6.
Barsanti L., Vismara R., Passarelli V. and Gualtieri P. 2001. Paramylon (_-1,3-glucan) content in wild type and WZSL mutant of Euglena gracilis. Effects of growth conditions. J. Appl. Phycol. 13: 59–65.
Burton G.W. and Traber M.G. 1990. Vitamin E: antioxidant activity, biokinetics and bioavailability. Annu. Rev. Nutr. 10: 357–382.
Cramer M. and Myers J. 1952. Growth and photosynthetic characteristics of Euglena gracilis. Arch. Mikrobiol. 17: 384–402.
Fahey R.C., Buschbacher M. and Newton G.L. 1987. The evolution of glutathione metabolism in phototrophic microorganisms. J. mol. Evol. 25: 81–88.
Green J. 1958. The distribution of tocopherols during the life-cycle of some plants. J. Sci. Food Agric. 9: 801–812.
Guillard R.R.L. and Ryther J.H. 1962. Studies on marine planktonic diatoms: I. Cyclotella nana Hustedt, and Detinula conferacea (Cleve) Gran. Can. J. Microbiol. 18: 229–239.
Johnson M.K., Johnson R.D., MacElroy R.D., Speer H.L. and Bruff B.S. 1968. Effects of salts on the halophilic alga, Dunaliella viridis. J. Bact. 95: 1461–1468.
Kruk U. and Strzalka K. 1995. Occurrence and function of _-Tocopherol quinone in plants. J. Plant Physiol. 145: 405–409.
Kusmic C., Barsacchi R., Barsanti L., Gualtieri P. and Passarelli V. 1999. Euglena gracilis as source of the antioxidant vitamin E. Effects of culture conditions in the wild strain and in the natural mutant WZSL. J. appl. Phycol. 10: 555–559.
Lang J.K., Gohill R. and Packer L. 1986. Simulteneous determination of tocopherols, ubiquinols and ubiquinones in blood, plasma, tissues and subcellular fractions. Analyt. Biochem. 15: 106–116.
Landau M., Miyamoto G. and Bolis C. 1985. Growth and amino acid composition of Artemia salina (L.1758) fed algae grown in different media (Anostraca). Crustaceana 49: 318–320.
Lèger P., Bengston D.A. and Sorgeloos P. 1989. Analytical variation in the determination of the fatty acid composition of standard preparations of the brine shrimp Artemia. Aquat. Toxicol. Hazard Assess 12: 413–423.
Maeda M. and Hino A. 1991. The effect of diet on the component fatty-acid composition of Artemia salina. J. mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 52: 203–211.
Ogbonna J.C., Tomiyama S. and Tanaka H. 1998. Heterotophic cultivation of Euglena gracilis Z for efficient production of-tocopherol. J. appl. Phycol. 10: 67–74.
Rock C.L., Jacob R.J. and Bowen P.E. 1996. Update on the biological characteristics of the antioxidant micronutrients: Vitamin C, vitamin E, and the carotenoids. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 96: 693–702.
Takeyama H., Kanamaru Y.Y., Kakuta H., Kawamura Y. and Matsunaga T. 1997. Production of antioxidant vitamins, _-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, by two-step culture of Euglena gracilis Z. Biotech. Bioengng 53: 185–190.
Tani Y. and Tsumura H. 1989. Screening for tocopherol-producing microorganisms and _-tocopherol production by Euglena gracilis Z. Agric. Biol. Chem. 53: 305–312.
Vismara R., Barsanti L., Lupetti P., Passarelli V., Mercati D., Dallai R. et al. 2000. Ultrastructure of the pellicle of Euglena gracilis. Tissue & Cell 32: 451–456.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vismara, R., Vestri, S., Kusmic, C. et al. Natural vitamin E enrichment of Artemia salina fed freshwater and marine microalgae. Journal of Applied Phycology 15, 75–80 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022942705496
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022942705496