Potential Source Of Carotenoids Research Articles

Isolation and identification of carotenoid-producing Rhodotorula sp. from Pinaceae forest ecosystems and optimization of in vitro carotenoid production

Yeasts are alternative source of natural carotenoids, a group of colored terpenoids with various market applications. Carotenoid Production by yeast fermentation technology is greatly effective and proposes considerable benefits with large scale production, cost effectiveness and safety. In this study, four pigment-producing yeasts were isolated from forest park soils with the potential to produce carotenoids. Morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular characterization indicates the isolates belong to Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Carotenoid production was optimized by small scale cultivation. The optimum condition was 120 h of incubation at pH 6.0, 28 °C, white light irradiation, Yeast Extract Peptone Glycerol medium composed of 10 g/L yeast extract, 20 g/L peptone, 20 ml/L glycerol, yielding maximum content of 223.5 μg/g dry weight. The β-carotene content was confirmed by HPLC and FT-IR. The results suggested that soil yeasts are potential sources of carotenoids that could be utilized as a natural agent for industrial products.

Characterisation of a carotenoid producing extremely halophilic archaeon Halorubrum sodomense MS5.1 isolated from a solar saltern in Tamil Nadu, South India

A carotenoid producing extremely halophilic archaeon designated MS5.1 was isolated out of brine samples from a crystalliser pond of a marine solar saltern in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, South India. The red pigmented, long rod shaped haloarchaeon was found to be able to grow at temperature range of 20-40°C, salt concentration of 10-35% and pH range of 6 to 9 with optimum conditions for growth being 28°C; 30% salt and pH 7. The archaeal cells were found to be Gram negative and got lysed when placed in distilled water. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequence revealed that the isolate is phylogenetically related to species of the genus Halorubrum under the family Halobacteriaceae, with close relationship to Halorubrum sodomense. Further analyses of the phenotypic and biochemical characteristics of the isolate confirmed the identity of the organism as Halorubrum sodemense. The gene sequence of the strain was deposited in the NCBI GenBank with Accession No. MW332265. Polar lipid characterisation of the strain by thin layer chromatography (TLC) identified the major polar lipids as Phosphatidylglycerol (PG), Phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester (PGP-Me), Diglycosyl archaeol (DGA) and Sulfated diglycosyl archaeol (S-DGA). The strain was further screened for antibiotic sensitivity and found insensitive to antibiotics that target peptidoglycan layer and found sensitive only to Nitrofurantoin and Rifampicin, which works by inhibiting nucleic acid synthesis. As halophilic archaea are known natural sources of carotenoids, an attempt was made to extract these pigments from the cells and analysed by UV-VIS spectroscopy. Present study characterised the haloarchaeal strain H. sodomense MS5.1 isolated from a coastal solar saltern, optimised the growth conditions and the results clearly indicated that the strain is a potential source of carotenoids and halophilic enzymes.

Bioaccessibility of carotenoids and antioxidant capacity of seed-used pumpkin byproducts powders as affected by particle size and corn oil during in vitro digestion process

Powders made from seed-used pumpkin flesh (SUPF) are potential sources of carotenoids. In this study, unexplored effects of particle size and corn oil on bioaccessible amounts of carotenoids and antioxidant capacity of SUPF powders during in vitro digestion process were investigated. Overall, total carotenoid relative bioaccessibility (TCRB) of 100 mesh-sized powder (100 MP, 15.46%) was higher than that of 18 mesh-sized powder (18 MP, 12.94%). With the addition of 2% corn oil, TCRB increased 108.35% (18 MP) and 88.55% (100 MP), respectively. Lutein (≥27160 µg/100 g) and β-carotene (≥5192 µg/100 g) were main carotenoid monomers in SUPF and significantly correlated with DPPH radical scavenging activity of digestive supernatant (p < 0.05). Notably, DPPH radical scavenging activity of 18 MP increased 96.54% with corn oil. These results implied that smaller particle size and oil addition could improve bioaccessible amounts of carotenoids and antioxidant capacity of SUPF powders.

Identification of carotenoids and chlorophylls from green algae Chlorococcum humicola and extraction by liquefied dimethyl ether

In this study, the microalga Chlorococum humicula was evaluated as a potential source of carotenoids and chlorophylls, and extraction of these pigments with liquefied dimethyl ether (DME) as an alternative green solvent was investigated. Carotenoids and chlorophylls in the algae were identified by spectral and comparative band ratio analyses. The liquefied DME extraction was shown to be a rather fast process for the extraction of pigments from C. humicula at relatively high yields. The effects of the extraction solvent: sample ratio, time, and temperature in the liquefied DME extraction of C. humicola on the yields of neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, chlorophyll-b, chlorophyll-a, as well as the total carotenoids and chlorophylls, were determined. The highest total carotenoids yield (4.14 mg/g dry weight algae) and total chlorophylls yield (8.45 mg/g dry weight algae) were obtained using a 45:1 (w/w) liquefied DME: algae wet weight ratio for 20 min at 41 °C. At this condition, extraction of 91 % and 35 % of the total carotenoids and chlorophylls, respectively, was attained. In contrast, the extraction yield and percentage recovery of carotenoids obtained with acetone, a conventional solvent, was found to be lower than that of the liquefied DME, suggesting that liquefied DME has a higher selectivity for the less polar carotenoids than that of acetone.

Microalgae as a potential source of carotenoids: Comparative results of an in vitro digestion method and a feeding experiment with C57BL/6J mice

This study aimed to investigate Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris; phototrophic and mixotrophic), and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (P. tricornutum) as a potential carotenoid source. Feed preparations containing 5, 15, or 25% of these microalgae species were applied to investigate the carotenoid bioaccessibility (in vitro digestion) as well as bioavailability in vivo in C57BL/6J mice.C. vulgaris mainly contains lutein and β-carotene (mixotrophic), whereas P. tricornutum is rich in fucoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and β-carotene. The diet supplemented with 5% P. tricornutum and ingestion of the 15% and 25%-diet of all investigated microalgae species led to an accumulation of carotenoids and derivatives in the liver. The adipose tissue also showed carotenoids after the consumption of P. tricornutum-diets, but not after C. vulgaris ingestion. We could neither observe a significant increase nor impairment of the retinol concentration in the liver.Thus, consumption of a microalgae-enriched diet can contribute to the absorption and accumulation of microalgal carotenoids.

Carotenoid composition in oils obtained from palm fruits from the Brazilian Amazon

The oils obtained from native palm fruits are considered new sources of high added value phytochemicals, making it necessary to know the composition of the less studied species in order to evaluate their economic potential. The objective of this study is to identify and quantify the arotenoids in palm fruit oils from the Brazilian Amazon: bacaba ( Oenocarpus bacaba ), buriti ( Mauritia flexuosa ), inaja ( Maximiliana maripa ), pupunha ( Bactris gasipaes ) and tucuma ( Astrocaryum vulgare ), by means of liquid phase extraction and HPLC-UV-vis. analysis. The results showed an extremely variable carotenoid content, from 13 mg·kg −1 in bacaba oil to more than 1000 mg·kg −1 in the tucuma one. The oils obtained from buriti, pupunha and tucuma displayed high concentrations of s-carotene, corresponding to fruits with the series s, s dominant metabolism. Upon analyzing the carotenoid profile in bacaba oil for the first time, an extraordinary dominance of the s, e pathway was observed, proving them to be oils with high lutein and α-carotene contents. Although the s, s pathway dominates in inaja oil, the exclusive and high lycopene content implies that LCY-E is barely active in these fruits, in contrast to what has been evidenced so far. It is therefore of the utmost importance to characterize these new potential sources of carotenoids.

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) from the Cerrado and Amazon biomes

Pulp of buriti palms (Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) from two Brazilian regions had their phenolic and carotenoid contents and antioxidant capacity evaluated through different methods (ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and ORAC). Buriti pulp from the Cerrado presented higher phenolic levels (435.08mg AGE100g−1) and elevated antioxidant capacity in all tests. The fruits from the Amazon region had a higher total carotenoid content (52.86mg100g−1). Carotenoid profile has confirmed β-carotene predominance in both regions studied. The buritis’ region of origin influenced bioactive compound contents and antioxidant capacity of the fruits analyzed. A significant positive correlation (r⩽0.95; p<0.05) was observed between total phenolics and antioxidant capacity through the different methods applied. Results showed promising prospects for the future exploitation of buriti fruits as a potential source of carotenoids and natural antioxidants.

Gac fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng.): a rich source of bioactive compounds and its potential health benefits

SummaryGac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng.) is a tropical vine originating from South and South‐East Asia. Gac fruit has traditionally been used in Asia to provide red colour for cuisines and enhance visional health. Recently, Gac fruit has emerged as a potential source of carotenoids, especially lycopene and β‐carotene. Carotenoids and other identified bioactives from this fruit including phenolics, flavonoids and trypsin inhibitors are associated with many beneficial bioactivities such as antioxidant, anticancer and provitamin A activities. In addition to the traditional utilisation, commercial products like Gac powder and Gac oil have been manufactured as natural colourants and medicinal supplements. This paper is a review of the scientific literature on the nutritional composition, biological activities and processing of Gac fruit.

Thraustochytrid as a potential source of carotenoids

AbstractThraustochytrids, marine protists whose dominant genera are Thraustochytrium and Schizochytrium, belong to the kingdom Chromista and are known as an industrial source of DHA. We describe here that thraustochytrid strain KH105, isolated as a DHA producer, also accumulates significant levels of β‐carotene and xanthophylls including canthaxanthin and astaxanthin. A4‐d cultivation using a medium composed of 10% glucose and less than 0.3% of nitrogen sources in a half‐concentration of seawater gave an astaxanthin production up to 6.1 mg/L, and canthaxanthin content reached more than 10 mg/L under conditions where a higher concentration of nitrogen sources (6%) was employed. It might be advantageous in mass production systems for these carotenoids to be extracted readily by simply suspending the cells with organic solvents such as acetone and chloroform. Analyses on the morphological and life history features of the KH105 strain revealed that it belongs to the genus Schizochytrium. This particular species of thraustochytrids is thus considered to be a promising source of xanthophylls as well as DHA for use in the food industry.