Study on Lipid and Pigment Contents of Microalgae Cultivated in Water from Litopenaeus vannamei Shrimp Farm

This study aimed to cultivate microalgae in water from Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp farm to be used as supplement for shrimp. The study focused on its growth, lipid and pigment contents and effects of urea addition as nitrogen source and scale-up of microalgae cultivation. Microalga Chlorella sp. SHP isolated from shrimp farm showed higher pigment content and antioxidant activity than other two isolated strains. Chlorella sp. SHP grew best in effluent from treatment pond compared to water from reservoir pond and shrimp pond. The addition of urea at 2 g/L and the scale up in 50 L microalgae cultivation pond gave the maximum biomass of 0.19±0.03 g/L, the lipid content of 44.96±2.79%, and the contents of chlorophyll ab and carotenoids of 11.65 mg/g and 5.45 mg/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity based on radical scavenging activity of 1 g microalgal biomass was 66.71±0.02%. The findings from this study could be an alternative for producing microalgae with high lipid and pigment contents, and further utilization as low-cost supplements for shrimp cultivation.