ISSUE FOCUS 38 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2022 “As a natural food source of protein, vitamins, and minerals, the algae play an important role in both human and animal nutrition. Thanks to the studies carried out in recent years, special structures such as phycocyanin and polysaccharide in the content of algae attract attention. In addition to its growth and immune effects, it has been reported that algae also have productivity-enhancing properties in animal products such as meat, milk and eggs in the field of livestock.” Microalgae are simple microscopic heterotrophic and/or autotrophic photosynthetic organisms that grow in the aquatic environment and can be in unicellular or multicellular structures. Microalgae, which can be found in prokaryotic or eukaryotic structures, can reproduce rapidly and can live even under adverse conditions thanks to their unicellular or simple multicellular structures. It is estimated that there are more than 50000 species of microalgae, but about 30000 species have been identified so far. There are many ingredients in the structure of microalgae, mainly lipids (4-55%), carbohydrates (6-57%), and proteins (10-63%). Some microalgae species have also been reported to contain more than 70% (on dry weight basis) lipids. Microalgae, which generally live autotrophically in nature, perform photosynthesis using their pigments. By performing photosynthesis, they convert carbon dioxide, water and sunlight into biomass. However, depending on the specific characteristics of the species, they can also develop as heterotrophic and mixotrophic, apart from autotrophic conditions. Heterotrophic microalgae use organic carbon as a carbon source in dark conditions. Glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, sucrose and lactose are commonly used as organic carbon sources in heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth. Bioreactors are used in industrial microalgae production. Microalgae cells are cultured in the laboratory and they are provided to grow and multiply in bioreactor tanks. When the microalgae reach the desired maturity and content values, they are dried by various methods (freeze and spray drying). DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MACROALGAE AND MICROALGAE Macroalgae are large aquatic photosynthetic plantlike organisms that are visible to the naked eye. They are often referred to as seaweeds. Whereas microalgae are small aquatic photosynthetic plant-like organisms that can only be seen under a microscope. They are often called phytoplankton. Thus, this is the main difference between macroalgae and microalgae. Besides this, another important difference between macroalgae and microalgae is that macroalgae are multicellular whereas microalgae are unicellular. MICROALGAE AS A SUSTAINABLE AND VALUABLE FEED INGREDIENT Görkem Koyun Founder Marin Biotechnology
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