Extraction of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis biomass by enzyme and plant oils

Abstract

Astaxanthin is a natural compound with antioxidant capability higher than vitamin C and can promote growth, resistance against certain illnesses, and is a colorant with attractive results, which explain its full use in agriculture, food industry, medicine and especially in salmon culture. Astaxanthin is either harvested from natural materials such as aquatic products (salmon, shrimp shells), red yeast, microalgae, or chemically synthesized. Amongst these materials is Haematococcus pluvialis, a green microalga with high astaxanthin biosynthesis capability. This study investigated astaxanthin extraction from H. pluvialis using an enzyme or using high temperature and pressure. Results showed that the process was optimally done at 40 o C in 45 min at 0,2 %v/v viscozyme using 96% ethanol as a solvent with the yield of 28 mg astaxanthin per 1 g dried biomass. Using canola oil as solvent at the sample : the solvent ratio of 1:8 under 30 min of treatment yielded the highest extraction efficiency (29.468 mg/g) among the Extraction… Thu-Hien Nguyen-Lam et al.