Concentration of Tetraselmis suecica cultured algae by centrifugation and effects of vitamins E and C on its shelf life and proximate analysis index

In this work, the paste of microalga, Tetraselmis suecica, was produced and the
effects of vitamin C and E on its food value and shelf life improvement during eight
weeks of storage in refrigerator (4°C) was investigated. The microalga was initially
mass grown up to logarithmic phase in standard convey medium, then concentrated
by cream skimmer centrifugation method. The obtained algal paste was treated by
adding vitamins C, E and their mixture (all 0.1% weight/weight), and refrigerated
for 8 weeks. The density of algal cells was1.38􀀀109 cells/ml and the production
yield was about 1.7 gr/l. The cell viability in vitE-treated pastes (39/99±2/1%) was
higher than the control group (p>0.05), indicating the positive effect of the
preservatives. The proximate analysis showed that the control group had the lowest
moisture (86.8 %), the vit C-treated group had the highest protein (36.6%) and
lowest ash (29.9%), and the mixture of vits-treated group had the highest fat content
(13.4%) at the end of the storage period. pH in the control and vit- C treated groups
was lower than the other two treatments (p>0.05). In conclusion, using of vitamins E
and C as well as refrigerator storage are suggested for qualitative preservation of T.
suecica algal paste.