Enhanced astaxanthin production from microalga, Haematococcus pluvialis by two-stage perfusion culture with stepwise light irradiation.
For efficient astaxanthin production from the culture of green microalga, Haematococcus pluvialis, a two-stage mixotrophic culture system was established with stepwise increased light irradiance. By perfusion process, high density biomass (2.47 g/L) was achieved during the vegetative stage due to no detrimental effect of inhibitory metabolites, which was 3.09 and 1.67 times higher than batch and fed-batch processes, respectively. During the induction stage, biomass and astaxanthin were subsequently produced to the very high level 12.3 g/L and 602 mg/L, under stepwise increased light irradiance (150-450 μE/m(2)/s), respectively. These results indicate that the combinatorial approach of perfusion culture during the vegetative stage and stepwise light irradiation during the induction stage is a promising strategy for the simultaneous production of high concentration of biomass and astaxanthin in microalgae including H. pluvialis.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, South Korea.
Joon Chul
JC
Park
Seung Phill
SP
Choi
Min-Eui
ME
Hong
Sang Jun
SJ
Sim
D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000096:biosynthesis
D024341:Xanthophylls; C005948:astaxanthine