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EPA and DHA in microalgae: Health benefits, biosynthesis, and metabolic engineering advances
Summary
This review examines how microalgae can be engineered to produce EPA and DHA, the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids traditionally sourced from fish oil. Microalgae offer a sustainable alternative because fish oil production is threatened by overfishing and climate change. While not directly about microplastics, this research matters because microplastic contamination of seafood is making algae-based omega-3 sources increasingly attractive for human nutrition.
Abstract Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are ω ‐3 very long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC‐PUFAs) that offer a wide range of human health benefits impacting cardiovascular, anti‐inflammatory, and neurological health. It is widely known that humans inefficiently synthesize these compounds and as such rely on exogenous dietary sources, such as marine fish oils. Unfortunately, the production of marine fish oils is an unsustainable process and has suffered a dramatic fall in recent years due to overfishing and climate change, as the demand for EPA and DHA continues to rise. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop alternative, sustainable sources for consumable EPA and DHA. Metabolic engineering of marine microalgae to improve their EPA and DHA productivity is regarded as a promising option that has received increasing commercial attention in recent years. In this mini‐review, we describe several notable health benefits of EPA and DHA, summarize the natural sources and biosynthesis of VLC‐PUFAS, as well as the recent advances in metabolic engineering of EPA and DHA production in representative microalgal and protist species, including Schizochytrium sp., Phaeodactylum tricornutum , and Nannochloropsis oceanica .
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