Here are some frequently asked questions about Haematococcus pluvialis.
- What is Haematococcus pluvialis?
Haematococcus pluvialis (Chlorophyta) is a freshwater, unicellular green microalga with a rather complex life cycle. It is a promising source of bioactive substances, such as carotenoids, proteins, and fatty acids. Among various natural sources, Haematococcus pluvialis is an exclusive producer of astaxanthin (pink carotenoid).
- How to cultivate Haematococcus pluvialis?
Haematococcus pluvialis is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world and can be found in both fresh and saltwater environments.
Its suspension culture should be used in open ponds or closed photobioreactors. Open-pond cultivation is used only for the stress phase with short cultivation time (4-6 days) to minimize contamination and impose stress conditions. Closed photobioreactors are better at minimizing contamination and controlling culture parameters, but it has the disadvantage of high installation and maintenance costs [1].
- What is the cell morphology of Haematococcus pluvialis?
Haematoccocus pluvialis is a unicellular, spherical, green, biflagellated oil-producing cell with a diameter of about 30 µm. Depending on the life cycle, morphology, and physiological characteristics, Haematoccocus pluvialis can exist either as green cells or as red cysts (figure 1) [2].
Fig. 1 Cell morphology of Haematococcus pluvialis on (a) green stage (b) red stage
- What is the cultivation process of Haematococcus pluvialis?
Commercially produced Haematococcus pluvialis must mimic the natural growth cycle of microalgae in order to produce a completely pure product. The cultivation process of Haematococcus pluvialis is divided into two main stages in order to obtain higher biomass and astaxanthin yield. In the first, or green stage, the cells are constantly dividing and proliferating to gain biomass. Therefore, a sufficiently nutritious medium, moderate light intensity, temperature and pH are required. The second stage is the reddening, where the algae produce astaxanthin. To enter this stage, unfavorable environmental conditions must occur, such as nitrogen reduction, bright light, salinity, pH changes, or temperature extremes.
- What are the main factors affecting Haematococcus pluvialis?
Haematococcus pluvialis is determined by the quality of the water, nutrients, and equipment used for their cultivation and processing. To be specific, the main factors affecting Haematococcus pluvialis include light sources, irradiance, light duration, temperature, carbon source, nitrogen source, etc.
- What are potential applications of Haematococcus pluvialis?
Researchers continue to confirm the beneficial effects of microalgae components and their biological properties (e.g., antioxidant and anti-inflammatory). Most applications of Haematococcus pluvialis and astaxanthin extracted from it are related to human nutrition (food, pigments for food and beverages) and health (pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements).
In addition to supplying high quality astaxanthin products, Alfa Chemistry is also committed to astaxanthin related research. For more information about astaxanthin, please feel free to contact us.
References
- Hoang-Dung Tran, Thanh-Tri Do, Tuan-Loc Le, et al. Cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis for astaxanthin production on angled bench-scale and large-scale biofilm-based photobioreactors. Life Science, Biotechnology, September 2019 · Vol.61 Number 3.
- Mularczyk, M., Michalak, I., & Marycz, K. Astaxanthin and other Nutrients from Haematococcus pluvialis—Multifunctional Applications. Marine Drugs, 2020, 18(9), 459.
