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Review
. 2023 Feb 23;28(5):2089.
doi: 10.3390/molecules28052089.

Extraction of Valuable Biomolecules from the Microalga Haematococcus pluvialis Assisted by Electrotechnologies

Adila Gherabli  1   2 , Nabil Grimi  1 , Julien Lemaire  2 , Eugène Vorobiev  1 , Nikolai Lebovka  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Extraction of Valuable Biomolecules from the Microalga Haematococcus pluvialis Assisted by Electrotechnologies

Adila Gherabli et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

The freshwater microalga Haematococcus pluvialis is well known as the cell factory for natural astaxanthin, which composes up to 4-7% of its total dry weight. The bioaccumulation of astaxanthin in H. pluvialis cysts seems to be a very complex process that depends on different stress conditions during its cultivation. The red cysts of H. pluvialis develop thick and rigid cell walls under stress growing conditions. Thus, the biomolecule extraction requires general cell disruption technologies to reach a high recovery rate. This short review provides an analysis of the different steps in H. pluvialis's up and downstream processing including cultivation and harvesting of biomass, cell disruption, extraction and purification techniques. Useful information on the structure of H. pluvialis's cells, biomolecular composition and properties and the bioactivity of astaxanthin is collected. Special emphasis is given to the recent progress in application of different electrotechnologies during the growth stages and for assistance of the recovery of different biomolecules from H. pluvialis.

Keywords: Haematococcus pluvialis; astaxanthin; biomolecular composition; electrotreatment; extraction; microalga.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of different steps in H. pluvialis microalgae processing biorefinery.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Description of H. pluvialis cell structure at the resistant cyst stage. Based on the data collected in [62,63,64,65,66,67].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Initial biomass and supercritical CO2 extract relative percentage proportions for different biomolecular component compositions in the H. pluvialis red phase. Based on the data obtained in [69].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative antioxidant activity of natural astaxanthin compared with other antioxidants in the neutralization of destructive reactive oxygen species found in the human body. Based on the data collected in [26,77,150,151].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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