Microalgae value chains for the bioeconomy in Baden-Württemberg

Healthy nutrition is increasingly becoming a scientific and technical challenge. The world's population is increasing and the number of diet-related diseases has been growing steadily in recent decades. A large number of diet-related diseases, such as obesity, are characterized by subclinical inflammation of the body. For this reason, anti-inflammatory foods, such as omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and nuts, are used. However, the disadvantage of fish as a resource is its limited availability. For this reason, microalgae have become the focus of scientific attention in recent years. Microalgae not only serve as a source of protein, but also contain a variety of nutrients that could have possible physiological and preventive effects in human nutrition. These include substances from the carotenoid group and the various polyunsaturated fatty acids (FS) found in microalgae. The microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum (PT) is conceivable for human nutrition because of omega-3 fatty acids, beta-glucans and fucoxanthin.

All three ingredients can provide health benefits for humans and can also be used in animal nutrition. In the present project, PT ingestion increased the omega-3 fatty acid status in plasma and demonstrated the bioavailability of carotenoids. The intake had no negative effects in healthy individuals. Overall, the investigations advanced in MIATEST are the prerequisite for the application of PT as a novel food on the German market.