RT Journal Article
T1 β-Carotene production enhancement by UV-A radiation in Dunaliella bardawil cultivated in laboratory reactors
A1 Vílchez Lobato, Carlos
A1 Mogedas Romero, Benito
A1 Casal Bejarano, Carlos
A1 Forján Lozano, Eduardo
AB β-carotene is an antioxidant molecule of commercial value that can be naturally produced by certain microalgae thatmostly belong to the genus Dunaliella. So far, nitrogen starvation has been the most efficient condition for enhancingβ-carotene accumulation in Dunaliella. However, while nitrogen starvation promotes β-carotene accumulation, the cellsbecome non-viable; consequently under such conditions, continuous β-carotene production is limited to less than 1 week. Inthis study, the use of UV-A radiation as a tool to enhance long-term β-carotene production in Dunaliella bardawil cultures wasinvestigated. The effect of UV-A radiation (320–400 nm) added to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) ongrowth and carotenoid accumulation of D. bardawil in a laboratory air-fluidized bed photobioreactor was studied. The resultswere compared with those from D. bardawil control cultures incubated with PAR only. The addition of 8.7 W .m−2 UV-Aradiation to 250W .m−2 PAR stimulated long-term growth of D. bardawil. Throughout the exponential growth period the UV-Airradiated cultures showed enhanced carotenoid accumulation, mostly as β-carotene. After 24 days, the concentration ofβ-carotene in UV-A irradiated cultures was approximately two times that of control cultures. Analysis revealed that UV-Aclearly induced major accumulation of all-trans β-carotene. In N-starved culture media, β-carotene biosynthesis in UV-Airradiated cultures was stimulated. We conclude that the addition of UV-A to PAR enhances carotenoid production processes,specifically all-trans β-carotene, in D. bardawil cells without negative effects on cell growth.
PB Elsevier SCI LTD
SN 1389-1723
YR 2009
FD 2009
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/4301
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/4301
LA eng
NO VÍLCHEZ LOBATO, C., MOGEDAS, B., CASAL BEJARANO, C., FORJÁN LOZANO, E.: "β-Carotene production enhancement by UV-A radiation in Dunaliella bardawil cultivated in laboratory reactors". Journal of bioscience and bioengineering. Vol. 108, n. 1, 2009. Pags.47–51. ISSN 1389-1723.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026