Botryococcus as an alternative source of carotenoids and its possible applications – an overview.

The enhanced interest in carotenoid research arises partly because of their application in the
food and health industries and partly because of the necessity to find a commercially viable natural
source for their mass production. The bottlenecks in finding a natural source of carotenoids
which can compete with the synthetic products is the mass production of the organism that produces
carotenoids, cell harvesting and extraction methods of carotenoids. The microalga
Botryococcus braunii is an interesting organism for its commercial value as a rich source of carotenoids.
It contains lutein as major carotenoid which is considered to be one of the beneficial carotenoids
in human health applications. The current paper reviews the status of B. braunii as an
alternative source of carotenoid production on the commercial scale addressing aspects like cultures
of algae, factors that enhance the production and accumulation of carotenoids, cell harvesting
methods, and carotenoid extraction. The paper also presents an overview of identification,
characterization and structural elucidation of carotenoids from B. braunii and their bioactivity.