Combined production of fucoxanthin and EPA from two diatom strains Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Cylindrotheca fusiformis cultures

Abstract

Fucoxanthin and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) provide significant health benefits for human population. Diatom is a potential natural livestock for the combined production of EPA and fucoxanthin. In this study, first, the effects of three important parameters including light intensity, nitrogen concentration and salinity were evaluated for the production of EPA and fucoxanthin in two diatom strains Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Cylindrotheca fusiformis. And then, two steps method based on light intensity were applied to produce EPA and fucoxanthin in large scale. Higher light intensity was first adopted for the high growth rate and lipid content of diatom, and after a period of time, light intensity was lowered to enhance the accumulation of fucoxanthin and EPA. In final, the highest EPA yields were 62.55 and 27.32 mg L for P. tricornutum and C. fusiformis, and the fucoxanthin yield reached 8.32 and 6.05 mg L, respectively.

Coproduction of EPA and Fucoxanthin with P. tricornutum – A Promising Approach for Up‐ and Downstream Processing

“…Nevertheless, the results reveal that an increased biomass-specific product content (increase of around 20 %) is achieved at low light settings. These findings correlate with previous observations made for P. tricornutum on a molecular level [7] and are in line with data published for the cultivation of diatoms at reduced light intensity previously [11,37,56]. Our data show for the first time that the phenomenon of light adaption is valid for this particular P. tricornutum strain (UTEX 640) and thus, it can be used for the production of fucoxanthin-rich biomass with a biomass-specific fucoxanthin content of up to 20.1 ± 1.6 mg g -1 .…”

“…However, it is worth mentioning that recent publications show the possibility to influence the product content as well as the volumetric productivity of diatoms by adjusting specific operating parameters during cultivation. Gao et al [36] and Wang et al [37] reported an effect of the nitrogen level, the light intensity and the salinity on the specific product content and volumetric productivity of EPA and fucoxanthin using P. tricornutum. An approach to extract both compounds as a lipid fraction with ''green'' organic solvents from P. tricornutum was demonstrated by Delbrut et al [38].…”

A Hetero-Photoautotrophic Two-Stage Cultivation Process for Production of Fucoxanthin by the Marine Diatom Nitzschia laevis

“…Although many microalgae are rich in fucoxanthin, their fucoxanthin productivity is often poor. Fucoxanthin-rich microalgae, including Mallomonas sp., Isochrysis galbana , Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Odontella aurita , have been reported to have high fucoxanthin content (1.65% to 2.66%), but the maximum fucoxanthin productivity only ranged from 1.75 to 7.96 mg/(L·d) [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The low productivity of fucoxanthin in these previous studies was likely due to inefficient utilization of organic carbon source(s) in the culture medium [ 15 ].…”

Comprehensive Utilization of Marine Microalgae for Enhanced Co-Production of Multiple Compounds

“…Liquefaction is a thermal process that can convert biomass into liquid fuel at high temperatures (250-350 • C) and pressures (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), and it is suitable for MRAE with high moisture [170]. MRAE of different species (Spirulina, Nannochloropsis, and Chlorella) have been applied to produce biofuel through the liquefaction process [177,178].…”

“…A specific marine microalgae species can be used as a feedstock for many different bio-compounds. For instance, Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a good candidate for fucoxanthin and EPA [12], Dunaliella salina can be used to produce proteins and carotenoids [13], and Spirulina sp. Can accumulate a large amount of carbonic anhydrase, C-phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin [14].…”