Process development of astaxanthin production by selected yeast strain

Astaxanthin is in high demand on the global market because of its is safety, potential health benefits, and numerous uses in the food and pharmaceutical industries as well as aquaculture farming. The alga Haematococcus pluvialis is one of the main indigenous producers of natural astaxanthin on an industrial scale. However, the high expense of cultivation and extraction poses a problem for the natural production carried out by these indigenous producers. Alternatively, astaxanthin can be produced by microorganisms like yeast since they grow quickly on inexpensive substrates and can attain high cell densities in a short time. Astaxanthin from natural source saver than chemical synthesis due to safety concerns related to the byproducts formed during the chemical synthesis of astaxanthin. Also, this project focuses on optimization medium composition including carbon source, nitrogen source, trace element and their concentration at pH and temperature preferences in flask scale fermentations with a selected yeast strain. In addition, the mechanism of astaxanthin will be explain be gene and genome sequencing. Antioxidant activity is also analysis. Then scale up to bioreactor operation parameters for astaxanthin production and evaluating the effect of aeration rate and agitation to create innovative prototype of industrial production. It is hoped that the results of this project will be commercialized for further industrial and economic benefits.