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Abstract

Astaxanthin is a xanthophyll, a very common red-colored pigment of marine organisms that are in increasing demand in the market because of their applications in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Particularly, astaxanthin has been found to play protective roles against many chronic human diseases, and diseases associated with oxidative stresses caused by excess free radicals and other reactive oxygen species. Mucor circinelloides f. circinelloides is able to accumulate astaxanthin by stress conditions. The aim of this study was to produce astaxanthin by M. circinelloides f. circinelloides cultivated in the presence of exogenous stress conditions using a natural medium of cassava wastewater (CWW), continuous illumination with blue LED and fluorescent lamps in a bioreactor for 96 hours. The best condition for astaxanthin was under a fluorescent lamp (150 µg/g per dry biomass). The carotenoid fraction was extracted using acetone, followed by separation and purification by thin-layer chromatography. The astaxanthin was identified and quantified using spectrophotometry, based on the absorption coefficients. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) DPPH, and a higher antioxidant effect was observed by fluorescent lamp. This is one of the first reports on antioxidant activity in astaxanthin produced by Mucor circinelloides and the biotechnological potential for this fungus was demonstrated.