Influence of Silicate Concentrations on Growth, Carotenoid, and Fatty Acid Profiles of the Marine Diatom Conticribra weissflogii

Enhancing microalgal growth and bioactive compound production is becoming a duty for improving photosynthetic microorganisms. In this study, the growth, carotenoid, and fatty acid profiles of were studied under four different silicate concentrations and silicate-deficient conditions in an f/2 medium with continuous aeration, light intensity (30 ± 2 µmol m s ), salinity (25 ± 2‱), pH (8), and temperature (25 ± 2 °C). At the end of the experiment, we observed that a silicate concentration of 120 mg L produced the maximum biomass dry weight (0.86 g L ), carotenoid content (1.63 µg mL ), and fucoxanthin content (1.23 mg g ) in . The eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (11,354.37 µg g ), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (2516.16 µg g ), gamma-linolenic acid (C18:3n6) (533.51 µg g ), and arachidonic acid (C20:4n6) (1261.83 µg g ) contents were significantly higher at Si 120 mg L . The results further showed the maximum fatty acid content in at Si 120 mg L . However, the silicate-deficient conditions (Si 0 mg L ) resulted in higher levels of saturated fatty acids (38,038.62 µg g ). This study presents a practical approach for the large-scale optimization of biomass, carotenoid, fucoxanthin, and fatty acid production in for commercial purposes.