Engineering low cost medium for a potenial large scale culture of Dunaliella bardawil in Viet Nam

Abstract

Dunaliella bardawil is a unicellular, marine, green microalgae, that can produce high amounts of beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A), up to 10% of dry weight under appropriate stress conditions. High biomass content in low cost medium is the vital step of two-phase culture system for beta-carotene production. The purpose of this study was to enrich natural seawater medium for D. bardawil with an industrial fertilizer N-P-K (30-15-10), which is commercially available in Vietnam. Microalgae were cultivated in six different media under laboratory conditions. Biomass, cell density, total carotene and chlorophyll content of D. bardawil in the new media were analyzed and compared with those of the artificial medium to select a potential medium for D. bardawil cultivation. The results showed better growth and biochemical content in a modified natural medium (MD4) with addition of fertilizer and a few other artificial chemicals. With the new modified natural seawater medium, the cost is ten times less when compared with artificial medium (MD1) indicating that the natural seawater medium has great potential for further industrial development of Dunaliella for beta-carotene production in Vietnam.

Keywords: Dunaliella bardawil, carotenoid, β-carotene.