High-Purity Bioactive Ingredient-3S,3′S-Astaxanthin: A New Preparation from Genetically Modified Kluyveromyces marxianus without Column Chromatography and Gel Filtration

A highly efficient methodology for bioactive ingredient 3S,3 ' S-astaxanthin (3S,3 ' S-AST) preparation from genetically modified yeast (Kluyveromyces marxianus) with a combination of enzyme-assisted extraction and salt-assisted liquid-liquid extraction (SALLE) was achieved. The highest yield of 3S,3 ' S-AST indicated that FoodPro((R)) CBL for yeast cell walls hydrolysis could significantly enhance extraction and obtain, with the help of SALLE procedure, quantified 3S,3 ' S-AST over 99% in purity through cation chelation. In the oxygen radical antioxidant capacity (ORAC) assay, the antioxidant capacity of high-purity 3S,3 ' S-AST products were 18.3 times higher than that of the original raw material extract. This new combination preparation may replace previous methods and has the potential to be scaled up in the manufacture of high-purity 3S,3 ' S-AST from low-value bioresources of raw materials to high-value products in the food and/or drug industries with lower cost and simple equipment.

Automated summary

An efficient method for preparing bioactive ingredient 3S,3 ' S-astaxanthin (3S,3 ' S-AST) from genetically modified yeast was developed. The combination of enzyme-assisted extraction and salt-assisted liquid-liquid extraction (SALLE) resulted in a high yield of 3S,3 ' S-AST with over 99% purity. The antioxidant capacity of the purified 3S,3 ' S-AST products was found to be 18.3 times higher than that of the original raw material extract. This new method has the potential to replace previous methods and can be scaled up for the production of high-purity 3S,3 ' S-AST with lower cost and simpler equipment in the food and/or drug industries.