Effect of Oils Extracted from Plant Seeds on the Growth and Lipolytic Activity of Yarrowia lipolytica Yeast

This study was aimed at evaluating the capability of Yarrowia lipolytica W29 for the synthesis of lipolytic enzymes in a medium containing plant oils from non-conventional sources with some components displaying bioactivity. Oils from almond, hazelnut, and coriander seeds were obtained by using n-hexane (Soxhlet method) and a chloroform/methanol mixture of solvents (Folch method), and their effect on the growth and lipolytic activity of Y. lipolytica was compared. A comparison of these two extraction methods showed that the extraction with n-hexane was less effective regarding the oil extraction yields than the extraction conducted according to Folch’s procedure. The lipolytic activity of the studied yeast was higher in the culture media containing oils extracted with the Soxhlet method than the Folch method but it was lower compared to olive oil medium. Among all oils tested, almond oil extracted with n-hexane was the best inducer of extracellular lipases synthesized by Y. lipolytica. Its lipolytic activity achieved the maximum value of 2.33 U/mL after 48 h of culture. After 24 h of culture, it was close to the value obtained for the medium containing olive oil. Almond oil was a source of oleic and linoleic acids, which may determine differences in the lipolytic activity. The linoleic acid content in almond oil was higher than that found in other oils. When n-hexane was used for extraction, the resultant oils were characterized by lower contents of polyphenols and poorer antioxidative activity.