Cocoa-Butter-Equivalent Production from Yarrowia lipolytica by Optimization of Fermentation Technology

In order to obtain the optimal control point for single-cell lipid production with fatty acid profile similar to cocoa butter, this study explored the effects of carbon source, nitrogen source, temperature, sterculic acid methyl ester, cobalt on cell growth and lipid accumulation of Yarrowia lipolytica. Glycerol and ammonium tartrate-yeast extract were chosen as carbon source and nitrogen source for production of cocoa butter equivalent. Gradual increase in temperature (20-35°C) resulted in growth reduction, while increased in lipid content per Cell Dry Weight (CDW) (10.13 to 19.7%, w/w) and Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA). Our results suggests that the optimum conditions for Y. lipolytica to synthesize cocoa butter equivalent was 30°C with 0.6 mg L^-1 of CoCl₂.6H₂O or 0.03 mL L^-1 sterculic acid methyl ester in the medium with glycerol and ammonium tartrate-yeast extract as carbon source and nitrogen source.