Supercritical CO_2 Extraction of Antioxidant from Yeast

摘要

Astaxanthin is the main carotenoid pigment found in aquatic animals. Many studies suggest that it has stronger antioxidant activity than other carotenoids about 10 times and about 100 times than vitamin E. It has been used as a pigmentation source for marine fish aquaculture and is also being investigated for food, cosmetic and medical applications due to its great antioxidant activity. The red yeast Phaffia rhodozyma is one of the materials, which has received considerable attention in recent years as a potential biological source of the carotenoids and astaxanthin. It contains astaxanthin as its principal carotenoid pigment. To obtain the astaxanthin from Phaffia rhodozyma, the traditional extraction process requires the use of toxic solvents and multistage operations. The attention to supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) process has increased for the separation of food materials and biological materials due to the need to decrease the use of toxic solvent.