Yeast Lipids: Extraction, Quality Analysis, and Acceptability

Abstract

While a class of yeasts excrete lipid-containing surfactants, oleaginous yeasts produce and store lipids similar to vegetable oils and fats. Recovery of the oleaginous yeast lipids is problematic because of their intracellular nature and protection by well-knit biopolymers of the cell wall and other membrane systems. There is no suitable method of choice that ensures 100% recovery of intracellular lipids without affecting the native state during different unit operations. Several laboratory methods are available, but none can be adopted directly for commercial extractions due to technological limitations. However, as a result of the emergence of new downstream processing techniques, there is a positive indication for commercialization of yeast-lipid production in the future. Although most of the oleaginous yeasts are nonpathogenic, it is mandatory to analyze and report quality as well as toxicity of their lipids prior to market introduction as a component of human diet. This warrants specially formulated codes for edibility of yeast lipids and, in general, for similar products from other microbial sources.

Key Words:

• single-cell oil
• oleaginous
• biosurfactants
• recovery
• edibility
• downstream processing