Lutein production from microalgae: A review

Yunlei Fu; Yinan Wang; Lanbo Yi; Jin Liu; Shufang Yang; Bin Liu; Feng Chen; Han Sun

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128875

Lutein production from microalgae: A review

Bioresour Technol. 2023 May:376:128875. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128875. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Authors

Yunlei Fu¹, Yinan Wang², Lanbo Yi¹, Jin Liu³, Shufang Yang⁴, Bin Liu⁴, Feng Chen⁴, Han Sun⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Food and Bioresource Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Institute for Innovative Development of Food Industry, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
² Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Institute for Innovative Development of Food Industry, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
³ Institute for Food and Bioresource Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁴ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Institute for Innovative Development of Food Industry, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁵ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Institute for Innovative Development of Food Industry, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China. Electronic address: shlyg2242@163.com.

PMID: 36921637
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128875

Abstract

Lutein production from microalgae is a sustainable and economical strategy to offer the increasing global demands, but is still challenged with low lutein content at the high-cell density for commercial production. This review summarizes the suitable conditions for cell growth and lutein accumulation, and presents recent cultivation strategies to further improve lutein productivity. Light and nitrogen play critical roles in lutein biosynthesis that lead to the efficient multi-stage cultivation by increasing lutein content at the later stage. In addition, metabolic and genetic designs for carbon regulation and lutein biosynthesis are discussed at the molecule level. The in-situ lutein accumulation in fermenters by regulating carbon metabolism is considered as a cost-effective direction. Then, downstream processes are summarized for the efficient lutein recovery. Finally, challenges of current lutein production from microalgae are discussed. Meanwhile, potential solutions are proposed to improve lutein content and drive down costs of microalgal biomass.

Keywords: Carbon metabolism; Downstream process; Lutein production; Microalgae; Multi-stage cultivation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biomass
Carbon / metabolism
Lutein*
Microalgae* / metabolism
Nitrogen / metabolism

Substances

Lutein
Carbon
Nitrogen