Browsing by Author "Silva, Joana L."
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- Algae as food in Europe: an overview of species diversity and their applicationPublication . Mendes, Madalena; Navalho, Sofia; Ferreira, Alice; Paulino, Cristina; Figueiredo, Daniel; Silva, Daniel; Gao, Fengzheng; Gama, Florinda; Bombo, Gabriel; Jacinto, Rita; Aveiro, Susana; Schulze, Peter S.C.; Gonçalves, Ana Teresa; Pereira, Hugo; Gouveia, Luisa; Patarra, Rita F.; Abreu, Maria Helena; Silva, Joana L.; Navalho, João; Varela, João; Galileu Speranza, LaisAlgae have been consumed for millennia in several parts of the world as food, food supplements, and additives, due to their unique organoleptic properties and nutritional and health benefits. Algae are sustainable sources of proteins, minerals, and fiber, with well-balanced essential amino acids, pigments, and fatty acids, among other relevant metabolites for human nutrition. This review covers the historical consumption of algae in Europe, developments in the current European market, challenges when introducing new species to the market, bottlenecks in production technology, consumer acceptance, and legislation. The current algae species that are consumed and commercialized in Europe were investigated, according to their status under the European Union (EU) Novel Food legislation, along with the market perspectives in terms of the current research and development initiatives, while evaluating the interest and potential in the European market. The regular consumption of more than 150 algae species was identified, of which only 20% are approved under the EU Novel Food legislation, which demonstrates that the current legislation is not broad enough and requires an urgent update. Finally, the potential of the European algae market growth was indicated by the analysis of the trends in research, technological advances, and market initiatives to promote algae commercialization and consumption.
- Heterotrophic and photoautotrophic media optimization using response surface methodology for the Novel Microalga Chlorococcum amblystomatisPublication . Correia, Nádia; Pereira, Hugo; Schulze, Peter S.C.; Costa, Monya; Santo, Gonçalo E.; Guerra, Inês; Trovão dos Santos, Mafalda; Barros, Ana; Cardoso, Helena; Silva, Joana L.; Gouveia, Luisa; Varela, JoãoThe nutritional requirements of novel microalgal strains are key for their effective cultivation and metabolite content. Therefore, the optimization of heterotrophic and photoautotrophic culture media is crucial for novel Chlorococcum amblystomatis growth. Heterotrophic and photoautotrophic biomass samples were characterized to identify the differences between their heterotrophic and photoautotrophic biomass composition and their biotechnological potential. Media optimization through surface response methodology led to 44.9 and 51.2% increments in C. amblystomatis-specific growth rates under heterotrophic and photoautotrophic growth, respectively. This microalga registered high protein content (61.49–73.45% dry weight), with the highest value being observed in the optimized photoautotrophic growth medium. The lipid fraction mainly constituted polyunsaturated fatty acids, ranging from 44.47 to 51.41% for total fatty acids (TFA) in cells under heterotrophy. However, these contents became significantly higher (70.46–72.82% TFA) in cultures cultivated under photoautotrophy. An interesting carotenoids content was achieved in the cultures grown in optimized photoautotrophic medium: 5.84 mg·g−1 β-carotene, 5.27 mg·g−1 lutein, 3.66 mg·g−1 neoxanthin, and 0.75 mg·g−1 violaxanthin. Therefore, C. amblystomatis demonstrated an interesting growth performance and nutritional profile for food supplements and feed products that might contribute to meeting the world’s nutritional demand.
- Industrial production of Phaeodactylum tricornutum for CO2 mitigation: biomass productivity and photosynthetic efficiency using photobioreactors of different volumesPublication . Quelhas, Pedro M.; Trovao, Mafalda; Silva, Joana T.; Machado, Adriana; Santos, Tamara; Pereira, Hugo; Varela, João; Simoes, Manuel; Silva, Joana L.The photosynthetic efficiency (PE) and potential of Phaeodactylum tricornutum for CO2 mitigation in industrial tubular photobioreactors (PBRs) of different volumes were evaluated. A preliminary assay was performed at lab-scale to optimize the salt concentration of the culture medium. Interestingly, salinity did not affect the growth of P. tricornutum at concentrations of 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 g L-1. Higher volumetric productivities were achieved in the 2.5-m(3) tubular PBR (0.235 g L-1 day(-1)), followed by 35- and 10-m(3) PBRs. Maximum areal productivities corresponded to 48.5, 45.0, and 12.8 g m(-2) day(-1) for the 35-, 10-, and 2.5-m(3) PBRs, respectively. PE was thus higher in the 35- and 10-m(3) PBRs (2.21 and 2.08%, respectively). The 10- and 35-m(3) PBR showed CO2 mitigation efficiencies of 60 and 41%, respectively, of the CO2 introduced into the PBR, corresponding to 2.3 and 2.5 g of fixed CO2 per g of biomass. Overall, cultivation of P. tricornutum couples high PE and areal productivity when the industrial PBRs were used, particularly PBRs of larger volumes. This improved PE performance with larger PBR volumes strongly suggests that large-scale cultivation of this diatom holds great potential for industrial CO2 mitigation.