Development of highly effective growth strategies aiming at improving the content of carotenoids in Dunaliella salina IFDSAL-JY215

• Author(s): Sousa, Vítor Emanuel Silva ; Maciel, José Filipe Gonçalves ; Vicente, A. A. ; Dias, Oscar ; Geada, Pedro Miguel Macedo
• Date: 2024
• Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/93717
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Universidade do Minho

Description

Dunaliella salina is the most promising natural source of b-carotene, presenting itself as a valid alternative to traditional chemically synthesized carotenoids. Microalgal pigments present several advantages compared to their synthetically produced counterparts, revealing, for instance, higher bioaccessibility. In the present study, a central composite rotatable design and a central composite design were employed to maximize bcarotene production through the optimization of 4 cultivation variables (salinity, airflow, and the nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in the growth medium). The optimal conditions found for b-carotene production were 64 PSU of salinity, an airflow of 500 mL min1, and a nitrate and phosphate concentration of 6 mmol L1 and 0.4 mmol L1, respectively. When compared to the standard conditions, optimized cultures resulted in an improvement in the b-carotene concentration of around 88%. Concomitantly, a biomass concentration increase of 132% was observed for D. salina, from 0.93 g L1 under standard conditions to 2.16 g L1, under the optimal conditions. The microalga's carotenoid profile was also found to be positively influenced by the optimization process.