Two-stage LEDs illuminated plastic bag photobioreactor for production of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis and manipulated egg yolk pigment by astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is one of the most significant secondary metabolites with high price because of its high antioxidant activity. It can be used in commercial applications, including the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and aquaculture Haematococcus pluvialis contains the richest natural source for astaxanthin, so it has gained a lot of attention for commercial astaxanthin production. It is suggested that H. pluvialis can produce astaxanthin through a two-stage process that involves growing biomass under optimal conditions and then subjecting this biomass to stress conditions to cause astaxanthin accumulation. In this study, we used a two-stage LED-illuminated technique to produce high level of astaxanthin in a plastic bag photobioreactor. Plastic bag PBRs have received increased attention in recent years due to low cost and simplicity of controlling the culture. The results demonstrated that the two-stage procedure on plastic bags using shifting red-blue LED had the ability to produce high quality astaxanthin at a low production cost. The highest dry biomass and astaxanthin content were 2.53 g L-1 and 5.09%, respectively. The yolk color and egg-laying rate of hens improved when their diets were supplemented with H. pluvialis biomass. Hens fed with 0.2%, 0.5%, and 1% biomass rose by 8% (63.81%), 16% (68.57%), and 17% (69.52%), respectively, as compared to controls (59.05%). ® 2023 Journal of Science and Technology - NTTU