Abstract
There is currently much interest in fucoxanthin due to its broad beneficial health effects. The major commercial source of fucoxanthin is marine seaweed, which has many shortcomings, and has thus restricted its large-scale production and more diversified applications. In this study, growth characteristics and fucoxanthin accumulation were evaluated to explore the potential of the marine diatom Nitzschia laevis in fucoxanthin production. The results suggested that heterotrophic culture was more effective for cell growth, while the mixotrophic culture was favorable for fucoxanthin accumulation. A two-stage culture strategy was consequently established. A model of exponential fed-batch culture led to a biomass concentration of 17.25 g/L. A mix of white and blue light significantly increased fucoxanthin content. These outcomes were translated into a superior fucoxanthin productivity of 16.5 mg/(L·d), which was more than 2-fold of the best value reported thus far. The culture method established herein therefore represents a promising strategy to boost fucoxanthin production in N. laevis, which might prove to be a valuable natural source of commercial fucoxanthin.
Highlights
Fucoxanthin is one of the primary carotenoids in marine brown seaweeds, diatoms and golden algae, and it plays a major role in the light-harvesting complex of photosystems by forming a complex with the chlorophyll a/c binding proteins [1,2]
Many microalgae, especially diatoms, produce fucoxanthin as one of their main cellular pigments with contents ranging from 0.22% to 2.66% of dry cell weight, which could be up to 100 times higher than that in brown seaweeds
Weight, Different which was productivity of 137 under mg/(L·d)mixed was achieved under the mixed fromsignificantly total than the heterotrophic culture, which indicates that light, especially a mix of blue and white (1:1), carotenoids, the fucoxanthin content under mixed light was of cell dry weight, which was shown highercould thanpromote that obtained under monochrome light (Figure 3b)
Summary
Fucoxanthin is one of the primary carotenoids in marine brown seaweeds, diatoms and golden algae, and it plays a major role in the light-harvesting complex of photosystems by forming a complex with the chlorophyll a/c binding proteins [1,2]. The use of marine seaweeds as a natural source of fucoxanthin has important shortcomings, including low growth rate, low fucoxanthin content, poor product quality and potential negative impact on the environment [9,10]. These shortcomings have compromised the development of cost-effective production methods. Many microalgae, especially diatoms, produce fucoxanthin as one of their main cellular pigments with contents ranging from 0.22% to 2.66% of dry cell weight, which could be up to 100 times higher than that in brown seaweeds They grow rapidly and perform robustly in bioreactors.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
