Research advancement and commercialization of microalgae edible oil: a review.

The global food crisis has led to a great deal of attention being given to microalgal oil as a sustainable natural food source. This article provides an overview of the progress and future directions in promoting the commercialization of microalgal edible oils, including microalgal triglyceride accumulation, suitable edible oil culture strategies for high nutritional value, metabolic engineering, production, and downstream technologies. The integration of the production process, biosafety, and the economic sustainability of microalgal oil production are analyzed for their critical roles in the commercialization of microalgal edible oil to provide a theoretical and scientific basis for the comprehensive development and utilization of microalgal edible oil. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Asymmetric impact of oil prices on stock returns in Shanghai stock exchange: Evidence from asymmetric ARDL model.

This study scrutinized the asymmetric impact of oil prices on stock returns in Shanghai stock exchange with data (January 2000 to December 2018) by using asymmetric ARDL model. The examined results of asymmetric autoregressive distributed lag model indicate that cointegration exists between the oil prices and the stock returns. Results of asymmetric autoregressive distributed lag model confirm that both in the long run and the short run increase in oil prices have a negative impact on the stock returns of Shanghai stock exchange while decrease in the oil prices has a positive impact on the stock returns. The examined results of this study recommend that oil prices dynamically contribute incompetence in stock prices in such a way that impact the profits of investors in stock market.

Oleaginous yeasts for sustainable lipid production-from biodiesel to surf boards, a wide range of "green" applications.

A growing world population and a growing number of applications for vegetable oils are generating an increasing demand for these oils, causing serious environmental problems. A sustainable lipid production is then fundamental to address these problems. Oleaginous yeasts are a promising solution for sustainable lipid production, but, with the current knowledge and technology, they are still not a serious alternative in the market. In this review, the potential of these yeasts is highlighted and a discussion is made mainly focused on the economics of the oleaginous yeast oil production and identification of the key points to be improved to achieve lower production costs and higher income. Three main stages of the production process, where costs are higher, were identified. To render economically feasible the production of oils using oleaginous yeasts, a reduction in production costs must occur in all stages, lipid yields and productivities must be improved, and production must be targeted to high-value product applications.

Adopting healthier cooking oils: Findings from a qualitative study among independent food outlets in a rural district in Australia.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: This study explored key factors that motivated independent food outlets to voluntarily adopt healthier cooking oils following a health promotion intervention. METHODS: Sixteen food outlet managers from the Cessnock Local Government Area (LGA) participated in semi-structured interviews and a brief questionnaire which explored factors determining what cooking oils they use in preparing deep-fried foods. Interviews were analysed thematically and closed responses to survey questions using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Four main reasons emerged around decisions relating to oil choice: fry life, cost, taste and general health. Health implications, Council advice, competitive price and maintaining a good relationship with the Council were the most frequently reported motivators for swapping to a healthier oil. CONCLUSION: Behaviour change among food outlet managers to switch cooking oils is influenced by a number of health-related and non-health-related factors. Council Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) can be a catalyst for food outlets to adopt healthier food preparation practices. SO WHAT?: This study highlights the factors which may motivate the switch to healthier oils by independent food outlets. EHOs are critical partners for health promotion initiatives that target the independent food service sector.

Emu oil decreases atherogenic plaque formation in cafeteria diet-induced obese rats.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis-induced coronary heart disease - caused by elevated levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and inflammation - is one of the most prevalent diseases. Monounsaturated fatty acids are reported to prevent atherosclerosis; emu oil is a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acid, and we hypothesize that emu oil supplementation could lower inflammation and prevent atherosclerosis in diet-induced obese (DIO) animals. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 6), and fed with normal diet (chow pellet; ND), or with cafeteria diet (CD), or with CD along with emu oil supplementation at three different doses: ED1 (2 mL), ED2 (4 mL) and ED3 (8 mL) kg(-1) body weight (BW), respectively. RESULTS: After 12 weeks, the animals were sacrificed and serum was analysed for measuring lipid profile, C-reactive proteins, testosterone and luteinizing hormone. Histopathological studies were performed to observe atherogenic changes in thoracic aorta. Restoration of altered lipid and hormonal profiles, and inhibition of atherogenic changes in thoracic aorta, were observed with supplementation of emu oil, confirming its anti-atherosclerotic activity. CONCLUSION: The high content of oleic acid in emu oil could have orchestrated - either solely or in combination with linoleic and linolenic acids - causing the upregulation of testosterone biosynthesis and inhibition of atheromatous plaque formation in diet-induced obese animals. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Food purchasing sites. Repercussions for healthy eating.

Changes in the food system are associated with the increase in consumption of foods with low nutritional value in recent decades. Data on food purchasing for household consumption, collected from the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE--Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) Household Budget Survey (HBS) in 2002-3, were used to describe the contribution of food purchasing sites (FPS) to the diet of Brazilian families. All the 241 distinct FPS mentioned in the HBS were grouped into ten categories, according to the nature of the products available. Food acquisitions were organized into seven groups. Supermarkets and hypermarkets accounted for 49% of the acquisitions and were the main source of six out of the seven food groups. Street markets and greengroceries stood out in the acquisitions of fruits and vegetables, accounting for 39% of this market. The large contribution of supermarkets and hypermarkets to the diet shows the need for healthy eating promotion policies aiming at these locations. Street markets and greengroceries represent important allies for healthy eating.

Using infrastructure optimization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands extraction and processing.

The Alberta oil sands are a significant source of oil production and greenhouse gas emissions, and their importance will grow as the region is poised for decades of growth. We present an integrated framework that simultaneously considers economic and engineering decisions for the capture, transport, and storage of oil sands CO(2) emissions. The model optimizes CO(2) management infrastructure at a variety of carbon prices for the oil sands industry. Our study reveals several key findings. We find that the oil sands industry lends itself well to development of CO(2) trunk lines due to geographic coincidence of sources and sinks. This reduces the relative importance of transport costs compared to nonintegrated transport systems. Also, the amount of managed oil sands CO(2) emissions, and therefore the CCS infrastructure, is very sensitive to the carbon price; significant capture and storage occurs only above 110$/tonne CO(2) in our simulations. Deployment of infrastructure is also sensitive to CO(2) capture decisions and technology, particularly the fraction of capturable CO(2) from oil sands upgrading and steam generation facilities. The framework will help stakeholders and policy makers understand how CCS infrastructure, including an extensive pipeline system, can be safely and cost-effectively deployed.

Food commodities from microalgae.

The prospect of sustainable production of food ingredients from photoautotrophic microalgae was reviewed. Clearly, there is scope for microalgal oils to replace functions of major vegetable oils, and in addition to deliver health benefits to food products. Furthermore, with a limited production surface, a substantial portion of the European Union market could be supplied with edible oils and proteins from microalgae. Yet, before microalgal ingredients can become genuinely sustainable and cost effective alternatives for current food commodities, major breakthroughs in production technology and in biorefinery approaches are required. Moreover, before market introduction, evidence on safety of novel microalgal ingredients, is needed. In general, we conclude that microalgae have a great potential as a sustainable feedstock for food commodities.

Industrial waste utilization for low-cost production of raw material oil through microbial fermentation.

In view of ever-growing demand of biodiesel, there is an urgent need to look for inexpensive and promising renewable raw material oils for its production. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of industrial wastes for low-cost production of oils through microbial fermentation. Among the strains tested, Yarrowia lipolytica grew best and produced highest lipid when grown on decanter effluent from palm oil mill. When crude glycerol by-product from a biodiesel plant was added into the effluent as a co-substrate, Y. lipolytica produced a higher biomass of 3.21 g/L and a higher amount of lipid of 2.21 g/L which was 68 % of the dry weight. The scale up and process improvement in a 5-L bioreactor increased the biomass and lipid up to 5.53 and 2.81 g/L, respectively. A semi-continuous mode of operation was an effective mode for biomass enhancement while a fed-batch mode was effective for lipid enhancement. These yeast lipids have potential to be used as biodiesel feedstocks because of their similar fatty acid composition to that of plant oil.

Investigation of utilization of the algal biomass residue after oil extraction to lower the total production cost of biodiesel.

In this study, component analysis of a novel biodiesel-producing alga, Pseudochoricystis ellipsoidea, was performed. The component analysis results indicated that proteins and amino acids are abundant in P. ellipsoidea while the sugar content is relatively low. Rather than its use as a carbon source, the use of the algal biomass residue after oil extraction as a nutrient source provided a new way for lowering the total production cost of biodiesel. In both lactic acid and ethanol fermentations, the use of the residue instead of high-cost nutrient yeast extract allowed a significant saving, showing the promise of the algal biomass residue for use as a fermentation nutrient source.

Economic assessment of biodiesel production from waste frying oils.

Waste frying oils (WFO) can be a good source for the production of biodiesel because this raw material is not part of the food chain, is low cost and can be used in a way that resolves environmental problems (i.e. WFO is no longer thrown into the sewage network). The goal of this article is to propose a method to evaluate the costs of biodiesel production from WFO to develop an economic assessment of this alternative. This method embraces a logistics perspective, as the cost of collection of oil from commercial producers and its delivery to biodiesel depots or plants can be relevant and is an issue that has been little explored in the academic literature. To determine the logistics cost, a mathematical programming model is proposed to solve the vehicle routing problem (VRP), which was applied in an important urban center in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), a relevant and potential center for biodiesel production and consumption. Eighty-one biodiesel cost scenarios were compared with information on the commercialization of biodiesel in Brazil. The results obtained demonstrate the economic viability of biodiesel production from WFO in the urban center studied and the relevance of logistics in the total biodiesel production cost.

Prospecting for oil.

From the 1770s to the 1880s agriculturists and cooks sought to develop culinary oils from plants. Thomas Jefferson's attempts to introduce the olive into the agriculture of the United States, as a partial substitute for lard in cookery and as a cheap oleo for the consumption of slaves, met with limited success, even in the southeast, because periodic freezes and high humidity thwarted the development of groves. Southern slaves from West Africa supplied their own oil, derived from benne (Sesamum indicum). Benne oil was merely one feature of an elaborate African-American cuisine employing sesame that included benne soup, benne and greens, benne and hominy, benne candy, and benne wafers. Only the last item has survived as a feature of regional and ethnic cookery. In the first decades of the nineteenth century, planter experimentalists began the commercial scale production of benne oil, establishing it as the primary salad oil and the second favored frying medium in the southern United States. It enjoyed acceptance and moderate commercial success until the refinement of cottonseed oil in the 1870s and 1880s. Cotton seed, a waste product of the south's most vital industry, was turned into a revenue stream as David Wesson and other scientists created a salad oil and frying medium designedly tasteless and odorless, and a cooking fat, hydrogenated cottonseed oil (Cottonlene or Crisco) that could cheaply substitute for lard in baking. With the recent recovery of regional foodways, both the olive and sesame are being revived for use in the neo-southern cookery of the twenty-first century.

Effect of nutrient density on performance, egg components, egg solids, egg quality, and profits in eight commercial leghorn strains during phase one.

This study was a 3 x 8 factorial arrangement of 3 nutrient densities (low, medium, and high) and 8 commercial Leghorn strains. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of increasing both dietary energy and other nutrients (amino acids, Ca, and available P) on performance, egg composition, egg solids, egg quality, and profits in 8 commercial Leghorn strains during phase 1 (from 21 to 36 wk of age). This experiment lasted 16 wk. Eight strains of hens (n = 270 of each strain) at 21 wk of age were randomly divided into 24 treatments (6 replicates of 15 birds/treatment). There were no interactions between strain and diet except for BW. Strain had a significant effect on all measured parameters except mortality, whole egg solids, and yolk color. As nutrient density increased, hens linearly adjusted feed intake to achieve similar energy intakes so that the similar quantities of dietary energy (5.8 to 5.9 kcal) were used to produce 1 g of egg. As nutrient density increased, egg mass linearly increased, and feed conversion linearly improved. Egg-specific gravity and Haugh unit linearly decreased with increasing nutrient density. There was a quadratic response of the percentage of albumen solids to the increased nutrient density. Increasing both dietary energy and other nutrient (amino acids, Ca, and available P) contents significantly increased yolk and albumen weight at the same time, resulting in a significant increase of egg weight during early egg production. Egg weight may be maximized to genetic potential by increasing both dietary energy and other nutrient (amino acids, Ca, and available P) contents during early egg production. Because egg prices and ingredient prices often change, there can be no fixed optimal nutrient density for optimal profits.

The relationship between price, amounts of saturated and trans fats, and nutrient content claims on margarines and oils.

PURPOSE: Modifications to the amount and type of fat in the diet are recommended as strategies to help reduce heart disease risk. Individuals can choose from a variety of margarines and oils to alter their intakes of different types of fats, and nutrient content claims on product labels (e.g., 'low in saturated fat') can help them quickly identify healthful products. However, margarines and oils vary in price. METHODS: To examine the relationship between the price and amounts of saturated and trans fats in margarines and oils, and the relationship between price and the presence of nutrient content claims, price and label information were recorded for margarines (n=229) and oils (n=342) sold in the major supermarkets within the Greater Toronto Area. RESULTS: Linear regression analysis revealed a negative relationship between the price and amounts of saturated fat and trans fats in margarines, but not in oils. Margarines with a nutrient content claim were significantly more expensive than were those without a claim. CONCLUSIONS: The findings for margarines are of particular concern for lower income groups for whom budgetary constraints result in the purchase of lower priced foods, and also raise important questions about the usefulness of nutrient content claims in guiding food selections.