Utilization of glycerol as carbon source on the growth, pigment and lipid production in Spirulina platensis.

The ability of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis to utilize glycerol as the carbon source was investigated. In this work, we report on some physiological parameters that characterize the adaptive response of Spirulina platensis for the utilization of glycerol as the carbon source. A marked decrease was observed in the pigments Chlorophyll a (Chl a) and phycocyanin content of Spirulina platensis grown on glycerol medium when compared to the control. The lipid content in the glycerol-grown groups was comparable with the control, but variations were observed in the fatty acid profile of the total lipid mainly in the level of monoenes and polyenes. There was an increase in the gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) in the Neutral lipid (NL) fraction.