Abstract: The present invention relates to the Schizochytrium genus SR21 strain and a microorganism belonging to the same species as does said SR21 strain or having substantially the same fungological properties as does said SR21 strain, the said SR21 strain and microorganism having the ability to produce the (n-3) series of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the (n-6) series of docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and the invention also relates to a process for preparing the (n-3) series of DHA and the (n-6) series of DPA utilizing said microorganisms. The microorganisms according to the present invention are superior in their proliferation character and their propensity to produce fat, and have the ability to produce the (n-3) series of DHA and the (n-6) series of DPA very well. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively produce the (n-3) series of DHA and/or the (n-6) series of DPA, which are useful in the fields of foods and pharmaceuticals, using the microorganisms according to the present invention.

Abstract: Present invention provides a method to efficiently manufacture an oil-containing product including long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, or a high added value oil containing long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The method comprises culturing a microorganism belonging to the Genus Labyrinthula. The Labyrinthula microorganism is cultured in a medium containing oil or fatty acid as a carbon source, and the produced long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid is recovered from the culture. With the present invention, it is possible to efficiently produce from the vegetable oil and the like, an oil containing product comprising long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexanoic acid having a carbon number of 20 or more, and two or more unsaturated bonds, or an oil containing the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid. Further, the method of the present invention may be used to reform oil by converting the plant oil and like to high added value oil containing the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of efficiently manufacturing an oil-containing product including long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid or an high added value oil containing long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, by using microorganisms.

Abstract: The invention relates to a procedure of obtaining a lipid mixture rich in the content of .gamma.-linolenic acid or glycerides thereof from cultured fungus bodies of a filamentous Mortierella fungus. The invention proposes, on one hand, to fractionally extract the lipid mixture from the fungus bodies under mechanical disintegration in two steps first with an alcohol containing water to give a fraction rich in the polar lipids and then with a hydrocarbon solvent, e.g. hexane, to give a fraction lean in the polar lipids. The invention proposes, on the other hand, to enrich a lipid mixture relative to .gamma.-linolenic acid by fractionally crystallizing a part of a starting lipid mixture in a solution of a specified solvent so that the uncrystallized fraction in the mother liquor contains a lipid mixture in which the content of .gamma.-linolenic acid is remarkably increased in comparison with the starting lipid mixture.

Abstract: Lipids containing gamma-linolenic acid are extracted from cells of Mortierella genus fungi by first grinding the cells in the presence or absence of a hot alcoholic solvent, and then extracting the alcohol-treated ground cells with a solvent in a supercritical state, or a mixture of a solvent in a supercritical state with a lower aliphatic alcohol or a lower aliphatic hydrocarbon.

Abstract: A very efficient microbiological method is proposed for the preparation of .gamma.-linolenic acid or a lipid rich in the content of .gamma.-linolenic acid, one of the essential fatty acids in the diet of mammals, e.g. human. The method comprises culturing a fungus of Mortierella genus including isabellina, vinacea, ramanniana, ramanniana var. angulispora and nana in a culture medium containing a carbohydrate, e.g. glucose, as the carbon source in an unusually high concentration of 60 to 400 g/liter to grow a fungal body containing a large amount of a lipid rich in the content of .gamma.-linolenic acid. A further improvement in the efficiency of culture and the content of the desired fatty acid in the fungal body is obtained by the addition of acetic acid or an alkali acetate to the culture medium.