Unsaponifiable matter of green and blue‐green algal lipids as a factor of biochemical differentiation of their biomasses: I. Total unsaponifiable and hydrocarbon fraction

Abstract

Abstract As part of a program to study the chemical composition of algal biomasses, the composition of the unsaponifiable matter of the lipids of ten algal species (five Myxophyceae and five Chlorophyceae ) was investigated. The total unsaponifiable content, its general composition, and the components of the hydrocarbon fraction are discussed in the present paper. The unsaponifiable content of green algae is constantly higher than that of the blue‐green ones, with the exception of Chlorella . In both algal classes, the major components are hydrocarbons and sterols. Blue‐green algae are richer in hydrocarbons, whereas the green ones contain higher amounts of sterols. In most of the species examined, at least 48 components are present in the hydrocarbon fraction. Each algal species shows a characteristic gas liquid chromatography pattern, but n‐C 17 is always one of the most abundant components. Generally, the prokaryotic blue‐green algae show a simpler hydrocarbon composition than the eucaryotic green algae, which contain higher amounts of high mol wt components. Unsaturated hydrocarbons are generally present in very limited quantities, with the exception of Spirulina sp. and Chlorella , sp., which contain a C 17 alkene. Green algae also contain appreciable amounts of a C 27 monoene and of squalene.