Lipase is one of the most commonly used biocatalysts in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and can be produced by Yarrowia lipolytica yeast. Despite the intensive studies of lipase from Yarrowia, there are still many open questions regarding the enzyme secretion process, especially by new isolates of this genus as well as the effect of substrates or surfactants, or both on the production of lipase. This research focused on the effect of olive oil and surfactant Tween 80 including the optimisation of the concentration of these compounds on the production of lipase by some novel Yarrowia isolates. Moreover, the optimal environmental parameters (pH, temperature) of crude enzyme synthetised by Yarrowia strains were determined. All investigated strains were able to produce lipase in both intracellular and extracellular fractions. The extracellular lipase activities were higher than the intracellular ones (Y. divulgata Y.02062 and Yarrowia lipolytica 854/4 147 U/L, 80 U/L and 474 U/L, 122 U/L, respectively). In the case of extracellular lipase, supplementing olive oil and Tween 80 enhanced significantly the synthesis and secretion of the enzyme. The lipase activity can even be enhanced by 20 times higher from 25 U/L to 474 U/L in the case of Yarrowia lipolytica 854/4 strain. In the case of intracellular, supplementation of Tween 80 generally reduces lipase activity except for the Y. lipolytica 1/4 strain, which was affected by two times the increase. The optimised concentration of olive oil and Tween 80 were determined for Y. divulgata Y.02062, Y. divulgata 5257, Y. lipolytica 1/4, and Yarrowia lipolytica 854/4 strains as 1.6% olive oil and 0.09% Tween 80, 1.6% olive oil and 0.06% Tween 80, 1.4% olive oil and 0.09% Tween 80 as well as 1.6% olive oil and 0.065% Tween 80, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature of crude lipases (intra and extracellular) synthetised by the tested Yarrowia lipolytica and Y. divulgata yeast strains were found to be pH 7.2 and 37 °C, respectively. Our results confirmed that the new isolate Y. divulgata is a very promising species for further development for industrial use as Y. lipolytica.

In recent decades, there has been an increasing consumer demand for the so-called superfoods, accompanied by a growing scientific interest. In our work, sixteen commercial nutraceuticals of different product categories, including powders of cereal grasses, vegetables, fruits, microalgae, an aquatic plant, and herbs, were analyzed to compare their nutritional properties and volatile profile. Some samples, especially spirulina, chlorella, and duckweed powders, were rich in protein; however, their amino acid composition was imbalanced. Spinach, duckweed, and moringa powders exhibited very high ash contents, while sea buckthorn powder was a relatively rich source of lipids. Acerola powder had the highest total phenolic content by far and showed exceptional antioxidant and antibacterial properties in in vitro analyses as well. Aronia and rosehip powders also had high antioxidant potential, while moringa powder exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity. The headspace volatiles of the samples showed significant variations. Terpenes were the major volatiles in herbs, especially in turmeric and ginger powders. High levels of acids were detected in fruit powders. Some compounds were only characteristic of certain products, for example, dimethyl sulfide in beetroot powder, trans-3-penten-2-one in aronia powder, hexadecane in spirulina powder, and turmerones in turmeric powder. These volatiles can be considered botanical markers, which potentially help detect the adulteration of specific nutraceuticals. Overall, this study presents the nutritional and aromatic diversity among various “superfood” powders, highlights their potential application as ingredients in functional foods, and emphasizes the need for regulatory standards to ensure product safety, quality, and consistency in the growing nutraceutical market.