title: Rapid and environmentally-friendly extraction of carotenoids from Blakeslea trispora.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A rapid and environmentally-friendly method of carotenoid extraction from Blakeslea trispora was performed using low-pressure steam explosion for cell disruption and ethyl lactate for the extraction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Response surface methodology determined the optimal extraction conditions to obtain the maximum carotenoid yield. These optimal conditions consisted of low-pressure steam explosion at 0.2 MPa for 4.4 min, followed by extraction with ethyl lactate at a ratio of 1:25 at 39 °C for 45 min. Optimal technology was used, and the total carotenoid yield reached 95.6 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to previously methods, the time-consuming drying process was eliminated and the extraction time was significantly decreased. Ethyl lactate is an environmentally-friendly solvent with low toxicity in this method.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Hubei Province Engineering Research Center for Legume Plants, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Bo
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Resource Biology and Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
authors.forename: Li-Wei
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Resource Biology and Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Resource Biology and Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China. 496088097@qq.com.
authors.forename: Long-Jiang
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D009090:Mucorales / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002338:Carotenoids
keywords: Blakeslea trispora; Carotenoid; Ethyl lactate; Extraction; Steam explosion