The effect of olive oil on the production of omega fatty acids in Yarrowia lipolytica

Oleaginous microorganisms produce lipid more than 20% of their dry weight. Omega fatty acids, as essential fatty acids for human nutrition, produce by these microorganisms. Investigating the effect of olive oil on omega fatty acids production by Yarrowia lipolytica was the aim of this study. The yeast was cultured in a medium containing olive oil and then was sampled during four days for cell counting and microbial lipid extraction. Maximum lipid and dry weight were obtained 5.32 and 10.2 g/L after three days, respectively. Fatty acid profile analysis showed that both of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids are in the resulting microbial lipid. About 2.62 g/L of omega fatty acids were produced that amount of oleic acid, linoleic acid and gondoic acid were 2.37, 0.2 and 0.05 g/L, respectively. Results showed that omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic acid) and omega-9 fatty acids (oleic and gondoic acids) produced by Y. lipolytica in medium containing olive oil can be used in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.