Astaxanthin production by Phaffia rhodozyma fermentation of cassava residues substrate

Abstract

Cassava residues as main materials were fermented with Phaffia rhodozyma to produce astaxanthin.  Using the Box-Behnken design, the effects of sugar content, initial pH and nitrogen content were studied with the yield of astaxanthin as response value, which was evaluated to optimize the fermentation conditions of astaxanthin production.  The optimal fermentation conditions have been reached by the study: sugar content was 40 g/L, the initial pH was at 4 and nitrogen content was 8 g/L.  By validation test, the astaxanthin yield under the optimal condition, which was basically corresponded to the model prediction, was 96.83%.

Keywords: astaxanthin, cassava recidues, Phaffia rhodozyma