We are culturing Isochrysis sp. in batches to be pooled together to obtain sufficient cell density. After the first batch is harvested, it is kept in a refrigerator waiting for the next harvest before pooling the cells together.
How far can the nutrient content differ/degrade between the two batches?
Dear sharifah
you can keep it in refrigerator for long time. but in long time storage carbohydrate and lipid content of phytoplankton increase and the level of protein decreased. An increased relative content of the monounsaturated fatty acid 18: 1 and the saturated fatty acid 16:0, and a decreased relative content of polyunsaturated fatty acids was found in most algal species during nutrient limitation.In the species which accumulated lipids (I. galbana, P. lutheri,
P. tricornutum and Chaetoceros sp.) the quantitative content of n - 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids increased with increasing nutrient limitation although the percent content decreased.
If for short time (3-4 days) you should not have lost of nutrients in refrigeration, if for longer time is preferable to freeze, in that case you should add some food grade criopreservative solutions to avoid ice formation, i mean cristalization of the water content, because cristalization destroy wall cells and then you will have lost of nutrients.
Thank you very much for the answers. We are testing the nutrient content at different growth stages of Isochrysis sp to be used in fish larval feed. Since there are changes of nutrient content during storage time, I guess the storage period should be the same throughout different growth stages of Isochrysis in order to reduce factor variability. I suppose food grade cryopreservative solution will not affect fish larvae upon consumption?
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