Optimised production and extraction of astaxanthin from the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous

Harith, Z. T., de Andrade Lima, M., Charalampopoulos, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1269-8402 and Chatzifragkou, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9255-7871 (2020) Optimised production and extraction of astaxanthin from the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous. Microorganisms, 8 (3). 430. ISSN 2076-2607 doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8030430

Abstract/Summary

Currently, astaxanthin demand is fulfilled by chemical synthesis using petroleum-based feedstocks. As such, alternative pathways of natural astaxanthin production attracts much research interest. This study aimed at optimising bioreactor operation parameters for astaxanthin production and evaluated strategies for its subsequent extraction. The effect of pH and agitation were evident as significant reduction in both biomass and astaxanthin production was observed when the culture pH was not controlled, and low agitation speed was applied. At controlled pH condition and high agitation speed, significant increase in biomass (16.4 g/l) and astaxanthin production (3.6 mg/l) were obtained. Enzymatic yeast cell lysis using two commercial enzymes (Accellerase 1500 and Glucanex) was optimised using central composite design of experiment (DoE). Accellerase 1500 led to mild cell disruption and only 9% (w/w) of astaxanthin extraction. However, glucanex treatment resulted in complete astaxanthin extractability, compared to standard extraction method (DMSO/acetone). When supercritical CO2 was employed as an extraction solvent in accellerace pre-treated Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous cells, astaxanthin extraction increased 2.5-fold. Overall, the study showed that extraction conditions can be tailored towards targeted pigments present in complex mixtures, such as in microbial cells.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/89640
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF) > Electron Microscopy Laboratory (CAF) Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Research Group
Publisher	MDPI
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