The safety assessment of Pythium irregulare as a producer of biomass and eicosapentaenoic acid for use in dietary supplements and food ingredients

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 97; no. 17; pp. 7579 - 7585
• Main Authors: Wu, Lei, Roe, Charles L., Wen, Zhiyou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-09-2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; Analysis; Biomass; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Dietary supplements; Dietary Supplements - analysis; Eicosapentaenoic Acid - biosynthesis; Ethanol; Fatty acids; Food; Food Additives - analysis; Food Additives - metabolism; Food Safety; Food science; Fungi; Glycerol; Industrial Microbiology; Ingredients; Life Sciences; Mammals; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Mini-Review; Mycotoxins; Natural products; Omega-3 fatty acids; Phase transitions; Plant tissues; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Pythium; Pythium - genetics; Pythium - growth & development; Pythium - metabolism; Pythium irregulare; Safety; Safety and security measures; Soybeans; Studies; Technology application; Unsaturated fatty acids; United States > US; Safety assessment; Algae; Oomycete; Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s00253-013-5114-4

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6, n-3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5, n-3), and arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4 n-6), have multiple beneficial effects on human health and can be used as an important ingredient in dietary supplements, food, feed and pharmaceuticals. A variety of microorganisms has been used for commercial production of these fatty acids. The microorganisms in the
Pythium
family, particularly
Pythium irregulare
, are potential EPA producers. The aim of this work is to provide a safety assessment of
P. irregulare
so that the EPA derived from this species can be potentially used in various commercial applications. The genus
Pythium
has been widely recognized as a plant pathogen by infecting roots and colonizing the vascular tissues of various plants such as soybeans, corn and various vegetables. However, the majority of the
Pythium
species (including
P. irregulare
) have not been reported to infect mammals including humans. The only species among the
Pythium
family that infects mammals is
P. insidiosum
. There also have been no reports showing
P. irregulare
to contain mycotoxins or cause potentially allergenic responses in humans. Based on the safety assessment, we conclude that
P. irregulare
can be considered a safe source of biomass and EPA-containing oil for use as ingredients in dietary supplements, food, feed and pharmaceuticals.