Preparation of astaxanthin by lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis from its esters in a slug-flow microchannel reactor

Abstract Natural astaxanthin is widely used as a food and cosmetics additive because of its multiple biological activities. However, astaxanthin produced by Haematococcus pluvialis is generally esterified, and its activity is far less than that of free astaxanthin. Hydrolysis of astaxanthin esters to free astaxanthin by enzymes can overcome the drawbacks of chemical saponification methods. In this paper, a slug-flow microchannel reactor was constructed and tested in enzymatic hydrolysis of astaxanthin esters. The reactor consists of a “T” slug-flow generator, a stainless-steel microchannel, two constant-flow pumps, and a temperature controller. The reactor has the advantages of simple configuration and easy scale-up, and is suitable for two-phase biochemical reactions. Using the microchannel reactor, astaxanthin esters in H. pluvialis oil were efficiently hydrolyzed to free astaxanthin by lipase from Aspergillus niger. After hydrolysis, the content of free astaxanthin in H. pluvialis oil was 18.8 mg/L, 7.83-times higher than that before hydrolysis (2.13 mg/L). The hydrolysis rate reached 75.4%. These results indicate that the microchannel reactor can be useful for the production of free astaxanthin from its esters.