Growth and Nutritional Profile of Chlorella vulgaris Grown in Conway Media and Waste Water

Abstract

Microalgae are sunlight-driven cell factories that convert carbon into potential biofuels, foods, feeds and high-value bio-actives. They can produce valuable lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, pigments, vitamins and other value added products that are promising for present and future feedstocks and pharmaceutical applications in an integrated approach. Chlorella vulgaris is a promising source of protein and lipid due to its higher growth rate and cellular chemical compositions. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine growth and nutritional profileof Chlorella vulgaris in aquaculture waste water. For the experiment, Chlorella vulgaris was grown in Conway medium as the control and in 25 % ww, 50 % ww, 75 % ww and 100 % ww present from aquaculture pond used respectively to determine growth and nutritional profile. The culture volume was 1.5 L each with triplicates. The results showed that the growth of Chlorella vulgaris, in terms of cell density and optical density was significantly (p > 0.05) higher ( 4.325x106cellsml- 1) (0.400333 Abs) at high concentration of 50% ww compared to other concentration 25 % ww ( 3.358x106 cellsml-1; 0.263 Abs), 75 % ww ( 3.475x106 cellsml-1;0.348Abs) and 100%ww (4.167×106 cellsml-1; 0.312 Abs) respectively. Protein content of Chlorella vulgaris was significantly high (p > 0.05) at higher concentration of Conway medium (42.69 % dry weight) followed by 25%ww(19.88 % dry weight), 50 % ww (41 % dry weight,) 75% ww (24.45 % dry weight) and 100 % ww (22.97 % dry weight) respectively. On the other hand, lipid content (16 % DW) and (17 % DW) was significantly higher (p > 0.05) at 75 % ww and 100 % ww concentration. In case of carbohydrate content (24 % dry weight) conmway medium significantly higher among the different concentration. The study indicates that media enriched with 50% aquaculture wastewater can enhance the cell growth and nutrient values in cultivation of C. vulgaris