Growth kinetics and fucoxanthin production of Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Isochrysis galbana cultures at different light and agitation conditions

Abstract

Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid that exerts multiple beneficial effects on human health. However, reports comparing microalgae culture conditions and their effect on growth and fucoxanthin production are still limited. Isochrysis galbana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum cultures in different light (62.0, 25.9, 13.5, or 9.1 μmol photons m -2 s -1 ), mixing conditions (1 vvm aeration or 130 rpm agitation), and media compositions (F/2 and Conway medium) were studied for comparison of cellular growth and fucoxanthin production on F/2 medium. I. galbana showed a better adaptation to tested culture conditions in comparison with P. tricornutum, reaching 2.15 × 10 7 ±4.07×10 6 cells mL -1 and a specific growth rate (μ) of 1.12±0.05 day -1 under aerated conditions and 62.0 μmol photons m -2 s -1 light intensity. Fucoxanthin concentration was about 25 % higher in P. tricornutum cultures under 13.5 μmol photons m -2 s -1 light intensity and aerated conditions, but the highest fucoxanthin total production was higher in I. galbana, where 3.32 mg can be obtained from 1 L batch cultures at the 16th day under these conditions. Moreover, higher cell densities (~32.41 %), fucoxanthin concentration (~42.46 %), and total production (~50.68 %) were observed in I. galbana cultures grown in Conway medium, if compared with cultures grown in F/2 medium. The results show that the best growth conditions did not result in the best fucoxanthin production for either microalgae, implying that there is not a direct relationship between cellular growth and fucoxanthin production. Moreover, the results suggest that I. galbana cultures on Conway medium are strong candidates for fucoxanthin production, where 1.2 to 15 times higher fucoxanthin concentration are observed in comparison to macroalgal sources.

Impact of Light Intensity on Antioxidant Activity of Tropical Microalgae

“…For species belonging to Bacillariophyta, carotenoid content is mainly constituted of fucoxanthin, a photosynthetic pigment. As expected there is higher fucoxanthin in LL condition in most species which is in agreement with the litterature [35,54,55]. In Chlorophyte species, lutein is the major carotenoid.…”

Environmental and nutrient conditions influence fucoxanthin productivity of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum grown on palm oil mill effluent

“…In diatoms, including P. tricornutum, chlorophyll-a and fucoxanthin are the major light harvesting pigments (Gómez-Loredo et al 2016). As a result, cellular contents of both pigments showed a classical strong irradiance relationship when considering cellular content (Fig.…”

“…Simultaneously, apart from affecting growth, irradiance level might also affect the fucoxanthin content of P. tricornutum since it is a light harvesting pigment (Gómez-Loredo et al 2016). Furthermore, supraoptimal temperatures could be an extra stress factor on the growth of P. tricornutum.…”

Screening of Diatom Strains and Characterization of Cyclotella cryptica as A Potential Fucoxanthin Producer

“…In addition to nitrogen and light, there are many other factors worth of investigation for growth and fucoxanthin production of C. cryptica , including different medium and agitation conditions [ 62 ]. Our study highlights the production potential of C. cryptica , but its biomass concentration is still relatively low.…”