EXTRACTION AND EVALUATION OF EDIBLE OIL FROM SCHIZOCHYTRIUM SP. USING AN AQUEOUS ENZYMATIC METHOD

? Aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE) is performed for oil extraction from Schizochytrium sp. ? AEE process is optimized by response surface methodology. ? Microalgal oil extracted by AEE has high contents of PUFA, tocopherols and phenolics. ? AEEO exhibits considerable antioxidant activity as compared with SEO. Schizochytrium sp., a marine microalga, is a potential source of edible oil due to its short growth cycle and rapid lipid accumulation, especially of docosahexaenoic acid. An approach to isolate edible microalgal oil from Schizochytrium sp. using aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE) was developed. Parameters were optimized by single-factor experiments followed by Box-Behnken design. Proteases were effective in extracting oil. The maximum free oil recovery (49.7%±0.58%) and total oil recovery (68.1%±0.94%) were obtained under optimum conditions of liquid-to-solid ratio of 4.8:1, a 2.5% enzyme concentration of papain and an extraction time of 2.2 h. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in polyunsaturated fatty acid composition between microalgal oil obtained by AEE and by Soxhlet extraction, with the former having superior physiochemical properties and higher concentrations of bioactive components including total phenolic compounds and total tocopherols. These findings indicate a potential application of AEE for extraction of oil from Schizochytrium sp.