Microbial production of food lipids using the oleaginous yeast Apiotrichum brassicae
- Author
- Fiona Småros, Virve Vidgren, Kato Rondou (UGent) , Kaisu Riihinen, Pezhman Mohammadi, Koen Dewettinck (UGent) , Filip Van Bockstaele (UGent) , Kari Koivuranta and Nesli Sozer
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- Project
- Abstract
- Oleaginous yeasts offer a promising sustainable alternative for producing edible lipids, potentially replacing animal and unsustainable plant fats and oils. In this study, we screened 11 oleaginous yeast species for their lipid profiles and identified Apiotrichum brassicae as the most promising candidate due to its versatility across different growth media. A. brassicae grown in a dairy side stream produced lipids with a composition most similar to cocoa butter, but the stearic acid and linoleic acid content varied greatly when grown on different substrates. We visualised the formation of lipid droplets by digital holotomography. Pilot-scale production was followed by enzymatic and ultrasonic treatment of biomass and heptane/ethanol extraction. The fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) composition, thermal behaviour, and solid fat content of A. brassicae lipids was compared to benchmarks such as beef fat, cocoa butter, palm oil and milk fat. The FA profile of the A. brassicae lipids shares the same types of fatty acids with cocoa butter, beef fat and palm oil, however concentrations differ resulting in a lower content of saturated FAs. This increased the proportion of unsaturated TAGs, reducing the melting and crystallisation temperatures and the solid fat content. The microbial lipids contained the major TAGs of cocoa butter at similar ratios, resulting in a comparable melting peak and crystallisation peaks similar to the lowmelting groups of beef fat and palm oil. Fractionation has the potential to produce beef fat, cocoa butter or palm oil equivalents with desired techno-functional properties. This study demonstrates the potential of A. brassicae to produce tailored lipid profiles for various food applications through strain and process engineering or downstream processing.
- Keywords
- Microbial lipid, Oleaginous yeast, Apiotrichum brassicae, Cocoa butter alternative, FATTY-ACID PROFILE, COCOA, GROWTH, OXYGEN, CHAIN, LARD
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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01JEB55YKGY5CG3DSGA3AJRZWP
- MLA
- Småros, Fiona, et al. “Microbial Production of Food Lipids Using the Oleaginous Yeast Apiotrichum Brassicae.” FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, vol. 200, 2025, doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115481.
- APA
- Småros, F., Vidgren, V., Rondou, K., Riihinen, K., Mohammadi, P., Dewettinck, K., … Sozer, N. (2025). Microbial production of food lipids using the oleaginous yeast Apiotrichum brassicae. FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, 200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115481
- Chicago author-date
- Småros, Fiona, Virve Vidgren, Kato Rondou, Kaisu Riihinen, Pezhman Mohammadi, Koen Dewettinck, Filip Van Bockstaele, Kari Koivuranta, and Nesli Sozer. 2025. “Microbial Production of Food Lipids Using the Oleaginous Yeast Apiotrichum Brassicae.” FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115481.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Småros, Fiona, Virve Vidgren, Kato Rondou, Kaisu Riihinen, Pezhman Mohammadi, Koen Dewettinck, Filip Van Bockstaele, Kari Koivuranta, and Nesli Sozer. 2025. “Microbial Production of Food Lipids Using the Oleaginous Yeast Apiotrichum Brassicae.” FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 200. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115481.
- Vancouver
- 1.Småros F, Vidgren V, Rondou K, Riihinen K, Mohammadi P, Dewettinck K, et al. Microbial production of food lipids using the oleaginous yeast Apiotrichum brassicae. FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL. 2025;200.
- IEEE
- [1]F. Småros et al., “Microbial production of food lipids using the oleaginous yeast Apiotrichum brassicae,” FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, vol. 200, 2025.
@article{01JEB55YKGY5CG3DSGA3AJRZWP,
abstract = {{Oleaginous yeasts offer a promising sustainable alternative for producing edible lipids, potentially replacing animal and unsustainable plant fats and oils. In this study, we screened 11 oleaginous yeast species for their lipid profiles and identified Apiotrichum brassicae as the most promising candidate due to its versatility across different growth media. A. brassicae grown in a dairy side stream produced lipids with a composition most similar to cocoa butter, but the stearic acid and linoleic acid content varied greatly when grown on different substrates. We visualised the formation of lipid droplets by digital holotomography. Pilot-scale production was followed by enzymatic and ultrasonic treatment of biomass and heptane/ethanol extraction. The fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) composition, thermal behaviour, and solid fat content of A. brassicae lipids was compared to benchmarks such as beef fat, cocoa butter, palm oil and milk fat. The FA profile of the A. brassicae lipids shares the same types of fatty acids with cocoa butter, beef fat and palm oil, however concentrations differ resulting in a lower content of saturated FAs. This increased the proportion of unsaturated TAGs, reducing the melting and crystallisation temperatures and the solid fat content. The microbial lipids contained the major TAGs of cocoa butter at similar ratios, resulting in a comparable melting peak and crystallisation peaks similar to the lowmelting groups of beef fat and palm oil. Fractionation has the potential to produce beef fat, cocoa butter or palm oil equivalents with desired techno-functional properties. This study demonstrates the potential of A. brassicae to produce tailored lipid profiles for various food applications through strain and process engineering or downstream processing.}},
articleno = {{115481}},
author = {{Småros, Fiona and Vidgren, Virve and Rondou, Kato and Riihinen, Kaisu and Mohammadi, Pezhman and Dewettinck, Koen and Van Bockstaele, Filip and Koivuranta, Kari and Sozer, Nesli}},
issn = {{0963-9969}},
journal = {{FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL}},
keywords = {{Microbial lipid,Oleaginous yeast,Apiotrichum brassicae,Cocoa butter alternative,FATTY-ACID PROFILE,COCOA,GROWTH,OXYGEN,CHAIN,LARD}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{11}},
title = {{Microbial production of food lipids using the oleaginous yeast Apiotrichum brassicae}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115481}},
volume = {{200}},
year = {{2025}},
}
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