An eco-friendly approach for the recovery of astaxanthin and β-carotene from Phaffia rhodozyma biomass using bio-based solvents

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2022-02, Vol.345, p.126555-126555, Article 126555
• Main Authors: Mussagy, Cassamo U., Kurnia, Kiki A., Dias, Ana C.R.V., Raghavan, Vijaya, Santos-Ebinuma, Valeria C., Pessoa Jr, Adalberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Basidiomycota; beta Carotene; Bio-based solvents; Biomass; Carotenoids; Life cycle assessment; Phaffia rhodozyma; Solid–liquid extraction; Solvents; Xanthophylls
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126555

Bio-based solvents as a promising and sustainable solution for extraction of carotenoids from microbial biomass. [Display omitted] •Recovery of carotenoids from P. rhodozyma using bio-based solvents (BioSs) is promising.•Extraction mechanism depends on the BioSs nature and biomass characteristic.•The highest recovery yield was obtained using pure ethanol in wet biomass.•The use of BioSs in the process decrease the environmental impact (3–12%). There is a growing demand in the development of environmentally friendly technologies, based on the use of more biocompatible solvents for the recovery of natural bioactive compounds. In this work, the red yeast Phaffia rhodozyma biomass was used as a source of carotenoids to develop an integrative and efficient platform that promotes the recovery of astaxanthin and β-carotene using bio-based solvents (BioSs). The extraction aptitude of pure BioSs was evaluated and compared with the conventional organic method. At this point, the influence of the BioSs molecular structures involved in the extraction procedures were also investigated. Overall, envisaging the industrial application of the process, an integrative platform was proposed for the recovery of astaxanthin/β-carotene from P. rhodozyma biomass and the recycle of the BioSs. The life cycle assessment of the proposed technology using EtOH was evaluated, validating the sustainability of BioSs in the process with environmental impact reduction of 3–12%.