High-titer production of astaxanthin by the semi-industrial fermentation of Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous

An improved semi-industrial process for astaxanthin production by fermentation of Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous has been developed. The culture medium was designed at the flask scale, reaching an astaxanthin cellular content of 3.0 mg g(-1) cell weight and a volumetric yield of 119 mg L-1 broth. Astaxanthin production in flask was significantly improved by white light (4.0 mg g(-1) and 221 mg L-1), and by ultraviolet light (4.4 mg g(-1) and 235 mg L-1). The scale-up to 10- and 800-L fermentors was developed by feeding with glucose. Representative data for illuminated fermentation processes are presented and discussed at the 10-L scale, where 420 mg L-1 (4.7 mg g(-1)) astaxanthin were produced, and the 800-L scale, with productivities of 350 mg L-1 (4.1 mg g(-1)) astaxanthin. The purity of the astaxanthin in the broth was about 84%, with accumulation of the following carotenoids other than astaxanthin: 4% beta-carotene, 4% canthaxanthin, 5% HDCO, 1% zeaxanthin and 2% phoenicoxanthin. This technology can be easily scaled-up to an industrial application for the production of this xanthophyll widely demanded nowadays. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.