Enhancement of oil productivity of Mortierella alpine and investigation into the potential of Pickering oil‐in‐water emulsions to improve its oxidative stability

Mortierella alpine is an oleaginous fungi known for its tendency to produce oil and polyunsaturated fatty acid. Initial experiment indicated that magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONPs) accelerated glucose consumption and, consequently, oil production. After enhancement of Mortierella alpine CBS 754.68' oil production, the oxidative stability of the oil rich in long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (arachidonic acid) encapsulated by modified chitosan (CS) was assayed. To confirm the modification of CS, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum indicated that the connection between CS and capric acid (CA) as well as stearic acid (SA) was well formed, leading to a considerable improvement in nanoparticle formation, measured by the SEM photographs, and physical and oxidative stability of emulsions. The oxidative stability of Mortierella alpine' oil emulsion in a period of 20 days at ambient temperature was monitored. Of all treated media, CS‐SA nanoparticles were of the most oxidative stability. The rheological tests showed that viscosity behaviors were dominated by elastic behaviors in the impregnating emulsion with unmodified CS at the applied frequencies, and the elastic behavior of the emulsion sample prepared with CS‐SA was slightly higher than that of the emulsion prepared with CS‐CA. The results of redispersibility indicated that the powdered emulsion stabilized by CS‐SA had the lowest water absorption.