Dr. Mohammad Amin Hejazi, Head of Northwest and West Regional Branch of ABRII, declared that Beta-Carotene is among the most utilized high value compounds in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Beta-Carotene is produced from natural resources and synthetic form. Unicellular Dunaliella Salina Microalga is the most important natural source of Beta-Carotene with 10 to 15 percent of cumulative percentage.Cultivation in salt water and a simple culture medium containing minerals and carbon dioxide gas is considered as one of the major advantages of the microalga Dunaliella. Moreover, 40 tons of Beta-Carotene are imported annually; accordingly, to reach to the point of self-sufficiency to this applicable organic pigment, and also developing Beta-Carotene from native Dunaliella microalgae, are among the main purposes of the institute. By studying different native species, one strain of Dunaliella microalgae, which contains more than 13.5 percent of Beta-Carotene, has been obtained. The protocol to increase production efficiency of Beta-Carotene production has been developed.
He reiterated that the next step of the project is to commercialize the product, which requires planning an economic culture medium to minimize the expenses. In the pilot phase, a photo reactor has been made, which is about to be optimized, in order to reach to lab efficiency in pilot phase.
Dr. Hejazi mentioned that the open systems are utilized to develop Beta-Carotene from micro-algae, which are more cost-effective from construction point of view, but also with lower efficiency and pollutants. The target of the research has been to develop desirable and high grade products for pharmaceutical industries through upgrading this technology. Accordingly, closed systems (bioreactors) were utilized, with higher expenses, but also higher productivity and the minimum pollution.
Source: ABRII
