Characterization of mannosylerythritol lipids containing hexadecatetraenoic acid produced from cuttlefish oil by Pseudozyma churashimaensis OK96.

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms. Mannosylerythritol lipids (MEL) are promising biosurfactants produced by Ustilaginomycetes, and their physicochemical and biochemical properties differ depending on the chemical structure of their hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic moieties. To further develop MEL derivatives and expand their potential applications, we focused our attention on the use of cuttlefish oil, which contains polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g., docosahexaenoic acid, C₂₂:₆, and eicosapentaenoic acid, C₂₀:₅, as the sole carbon source. Among the microorganisms capable of producing MEL, only nine strains were able to produce them from cuttlefish oil. On gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, we observed that Pseudozyma churashimaensis OK96 was particularly suitable for the production of MEL-A, a MEL containing hexadecatetraenoic acid (C₁₆:₄) (23.6% of the total unsaturated fatty acids and 7.7% of the total fatty acids). The observed critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface tension at CMC of the new MEL-A were 5.7×10⁻⁶ M and 29.5 mN/m, respectively, while those of MEL-A produced from soybean oil were 2.7×10⁻⁶ M and 27.7 mN/m, respectively. With polarized optical and confocal laser scanning microscopies, the self-assembling properties of MEL-A were found to be different from those of conventional MEL. Furthermore, based on the DPPH radical-scavenging assay, the anti-oxidative activity of MEL-A was found to be 2.1-fold higher than that of MEL-A produced from soybean oil. Thus, the newly identified MEL-A is attractive as a new functional material with excellent surface-active and antioxidative properties.