Nutritive Fortification of the Rotifer Brachionus plicatilis with Eicosapentaenoic Acid-producing Bacteria

Out of 200 bacterial strains which produced eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), the strain SCRC-6370 was selected both in terms of EPA productivity and the growth of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis under the provision of the bacteria and baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Either vitamins or activated carbon put into the medium improved the growth and EPA content remarkably. When fed on the bacteria the EPA content of the rotifer turned higher than that of the rotifer fed on a>-yeast, which was 2.7 ng/indiv. and 7.5 % of total fatty acids. These values were however, less than those of the specimen provided with Nannochloropsis oculata, which were 4.3 ng/indiv. and 16%, respectively.