Critical Assessment of Various Techniques for the Extraction of Carotenoids and Co-enzyme Q₁₀from the Thraustochytrid Strain ONC-T18

Abstract

A variety of techniques for extracting carotenoids from the marine Thraustochytrium sp. ONC-T18 was compared. Specifically, the organic solvents acetone, ethyl acetate, and petroleum ether were tested, along with direct and indirect ultrasonic assisted extraction (probe vs bath) methods. Techniques that used petroleum ether/acetone/water (15:75:10, v/v/v) with 3 h of agitation, or 5 min in an ultrasonic bath, produced the highest extraction yields of total carotenoids (29-30.5 microg g-1). Concentrations up to 11.5 microg g-1 of canthaxanthin and 17.5 microg g-1 of beta;-carotene were detected in extracts stored for 6 weeks. Astaxanthin and echinenone were also detected as minor compounds. Extracts with and without antioxidants showed similar carotenoid concentration profiles. However, total carotenoid concentrations were approximately 8% higher when antioxidants were used. Finally, an easy-to-perform and inexpensive method to detect co-enzymes in ONC-T18 was also developed using silica gel TLC plates. Five percent methanol in toluene as a mobile phase consistently eluted co-enzyme Q10 standards and could separate the co-enzyme fractions present in ONC-T18.

Carotenoid production by Formosa sp. KMW, a marine bacteria of Flavobacteriaceae family: Influence of culture conditions and nutrient composition

“…However, high temperature and oxygen may affect the stability of extracted carotenoids (Rodriguez-Amaya, 2001). Armenta et al (2006) reported that higher extraction yield of carotenoids from the marine fungi Thraustochytrium sp. ONC-T18 can be obtained by agitating the biomass in a solvent mixture of petroleum ether/acetone/water (15:75:10) for 3 h or sonication for five minutes.…”

Propyl gallate and butylated hydroxytoluene influence the accumulation of saturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acid and carotenoids in thraustochytrids

“…Thraustochytrids can accumulate up to 80% of their dry cell weight as oil (Zuñiga, Ciobanu, Nuñeza, & Stark, 2012). Some researchers have explored thraustochytrids as producers for β-carotene and astaxanthin (Aki et al, 2003;Armenta, Burja, Radianingtyas, & Barrow, 2006;Quilodrán, Hinzpeter, Hormazabal, Quiroz, & Shene, 2010). Thraustochytrids are also reported to produce commercially important sterols such as squalene, cholesterol and stigmasterol .…”

Optimization of zeaxanthin and β-carotene extraction from Chlorella saccharophila isolated from New Zealand marine waters

“…Total carotenoids were expected to be fully extracted when the cell mass was suspended in acetone (Armenta et al, 2006), however after 3-4 extractions, the supernatant became colourless leaving behind a coloured biomass, which indicated complete extraction. When the cell suspension was subjected to ultrasonication for 30 min, a significant increase in carotenoid yield was observed (from 0.30 mg g -1 zeaxanthin and 0.10 mg g -1 β-carotene in direct extraction to 11.32 mg g -1 zeaxanthin and 5.07 mg g -1 β-carotene in ultrasonication) (Singh et al, 2013).…”