Safety evaluation of oleic-rich triglyceride oil produced by a heterotrophic microalgal fermentation process

Numbers of macro- and microalgae have been used as food sources in various cultures for centuries. Several microalgae are currently being developed as modern food ingredients. The dietary safety of oleic-rich microalgal oil produced using a heterotrophic fermentation process was assessed in a 13-week feeding trial in rats with genotoxic potential evaluated using in vitro and in vivo assays. In the genotoxicity assays, the test oil was not mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium or Escherichia coli tester strains (⩽5000 μg/plate) with or without metabolic activation. Further, no clastogenic response occurred in chromosome aberration assays in the bone marrow of mice administered a single intraperitoneal dose (2000 mg/kg). In the subchronic study, rats consumed feed containing 0, 25,000, 50,000 or 100,000 ppm oleic-rich oil for 90 days. No treatment-related mortalities or adverse effects occurred in general condition, body weight, food consumption, ophthalmology, urinalysis, hematology, clinical chemistry, gross pathology, organ weights or histopathology. Although several endpoints exhibited statistically significant effects, none were dose-related or considered adverse. Taking all studies into consideration, the NOAEL for the oleic-rich oil was 100,000 ppm, the highest concentration tested and equivalent to dietary NOAELs of 5200 mg/kg bw/day and 6419 mg/kg bw/day in male and female rats, respectively.