Evaluation of the influence of different culture media on growth, life cycle, biochemical composition, and astaxanthin production in Haematococcus pluvialis

Haematococcus pluvialis is known as the richest natural source of carotenoid astaxanthin, whose synthesis is related to changes in cells according its complex life cycle and the availability of nutrients present in the culture media. This study’s objective was to evaluate the influence of different culture media under photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions on the growth, life cycle, biochemical composition, and astaxanthin production in H. pluvialis . Cultures were performed using the following media: KM1, MM2, Provasoli, modified Provasoli, and how to control the BBM, all kept at 24 ± 1 °C, with constant aeration, light/dark photoperiod 24:0 and irradiance of 60 μmol photons/m 2 /s. Growth and life cycle were evaluated by daily cell counts under an optical microscope; values of maximum cell density (MCD) and dry biomass were also assessed. Biochemical analyses were chlorophyll ( a and b ), astaxanthin, total proteins, and fatty acids. Cultivation under photoautotrophic conditions in BBM medium showed higher concentration of chlorophylls a (33 ± 4.0 μg/mL) and b (18 ± 1.6 μg/mL) and protein (62.7 ± 3.38%). Cultivation in modified Provasoli medium, under mixotrophic conditions, showed higher MCD (84.5 ± 11.7), biomass production (4.9 ± 0.0004 mg/mL), fatty acid methyl esters, and astaxanthin productivity (9.28 ± 0.4 mg/L/day). These results demonstrate that the culture media and the culture conditions to which H. pluvialis is submitted stimulate specific metabolic and biosynthetic pathways of the cells, which directly affect the biochemical composition of the microalgae. Modified Provasoli medium proved to be the most efficient in increasing astaxanthin productivity for this species, as it has shown better growth parameters and biomass production.