Enhanced production of lycopene by fermentation of selected strains of Blakeslea trispora, formulations and uses of lycopene obtained procedure.

The method of fermentation with selected strains of B. trispora described in the present invention allows production to levels higher than those currently described lycopene. Methods of isolation, purification and formulation are applicable to any natural source of lycopene, especially to submerged cultures of mucoral fungi of the genera Blakeslea, Choanephora, Phycomyces or Mucor. The extraction process provides a simplification of the recovery process and an increase in product purity relative to the methods described above. The methods of formulation give high added value, since they allow to obtain stabilized preparations of lycopene for direct application in the foodstuffs and pharmaceutical fields.