Vitamin K1, majority produced by chemical synthesis, is essential for blood
coagulation and bone health (Russell and Suter 2015; Yaegashi et al. 2008). Tarento
et al. (2018) studied seven species of microalgae and found that the richest in vitamin
K1 is Anabaena cylindrica, reaching up to 200 μg/g on a dry-weight, which is
around six times more than traditional vitamin K1 sources (spinach and parsley).
Tarento et al. (2019) described the scale-up (50 L photobioreactor) for the
synthesis of vitamin K1 by Anabaena cylindrica, and they reach 330 μg/L on
dry-weight, which means ten times more than rich dietary sources.
The influence of cobalt chloride salt in vitamin B12 production by Chlorella
vulgaris was investigated by Jalilian et al. (2019), and they found 173.32 μg/100 g of
dry biomass with 2.5 μM of the salt, which means around 12% more than the control.
Tossavainen et al. (2018) studied the potential of the consortium composed by
Euglena gracilis and Selebastrum sp. to grow in aquaculture wastewater and then to
produce tocopherol (vitamin E). They showed that the aquaculture wastewater can
be used to increase the microalgae biomass and, due to the reduction in terms of
nutrients and carbon organic dissolved, also to treat this wastewater. Additionally,
the vitamin E content (total tocopherol) was superior to common plant oils, holding
up to 1358 μg/L, depending on the type of aquaculture wastewater used.
4.5.7 Pigments
Natural pigments are colored compounds that have anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, and
antihypertensive properties, enabling its application food industry, pharmaceutical
industry, cosmetics industry, and textile industry (Mobin et al. 2019). Presenting
higher content of pigments than some plants (Koyande et al. 2019), microalgae can
contain pigments such as carotenoids (orange), xanthophylls (yellowish shade),
phycobilins (red or blue), and chlorophylls (green) (Villarruel-López et al. 2017).
The most important class of pigments are the carotenoids. Carotenoids can be
divided into carotenes, molecules containing only oxygen and carbon, and xanthophylls, which are carotene oxidized (Soares et al. 2019).
There are more than 400 already known carotenoids, nevertheless only
β-carotene, astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and bixin are commercially
available (Suganya et al. 2016).
The content of carotenoids in microalgae is around 0.1–2% dwt (Suganya et al.
2016). However, the environmental parameters can influence the carotenoid composition of microalgae (Mobin et al. 2019). Haematococcus pluvialis, under stress
condition, such as salt stress, elevated temperature, heterotrophic media, among
others, can accumulate up to 2–3% dwt of astaxanthin (Rao et al. 2007; Sarada
et al. 2002).
Soares et al. (2019) identified and quantified major carotenoids in nine microalgae
species and found that Desmodesmus protuberans, Desmodesmus denticulatus var.
linearis, and Chlamydomonas planctogloea are lutein productors, and Coelastrum
4 Phycoremediation: A Sustainable Biorefinery Approach
119
coagulation and bone health (Russell and Suter 2015; Yaegashi et al. 2008). Tarento
et al. (2018) studied seven species of microalgae and found that the richest in vitamin
K1 is Anabaena cylindrica, reaching up to 200 μg/g on a dry-weight, which is
around six times more than traditional vitamin K1 sources (spinach and parsley).
Tarento et al. (2019) described the scale-up (50 L photobioreactor) for the
synthesis of vitamin K1 by Anabaena cylindrica, and they reach 330 μg/L on
dry-weight, which means ten times more than rich dietary sources.
The influence of cobalt chloride salt in vitamin B12 production by Chlorella
vulgaris was investigated by Jalilian et al. (2019), and they found 173.32 μg/100 g of
dry biomass with 2.5 μM of the salt, which means around 12% more than the control.
Tossavainen et al. (2018) studied the potential of the consortium composed by
Euglena gracilis and Selebastrum sp. to grow in aquaculture wastewater and then to
produce tocopherol (vitamin E). They showed that the aquaculture wastewater can
be used to increase the microalgae biomass and, due to the reduction in terms of
nutrients and carbon organic dissolved, also to treat this wastewater. Additionally,
the vitamin E content (total tocopherol) was superior to common plant oils, holding
up to 1358 μg/L, depending on the type of aquaculture wastewater used.
4.5.7 Pigments
Natural pigments are colored compounds that have anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, and
antihypertensive properties, enabling its application food industry, pharmaceutical
industry, cosmetics industry, and textile industry (Mobin et al. 2019). Presenting
higher content of pigments than some plants (Koyande et al. 2019), microalgae can
contain pigments such as carotenoids (orange), xanthophylls (yellowish shade),
phycobilins (red or blue), and chlorophylls (green) (Villarruel-López et al. 2017).
The most important class of pigments are the carotenoids. Carotenoids can be
divided into carotenes, molecules containing only oxygen and carbon, and xanthophylls, which are carotene oxidized (Soares et al. 2019).
There are more than 400 already known carotenoids, nevertheless only
β-carotene, astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and bixin are commercially
available (Suganya et al. 2016).
The content of carotenoids in microalgae is around 0.1–2% dwt (Suganya et al.
2016). However, the environmental parameters can influence the carotenoid composition of microalgae (Mobin et al. 2019). Haematococcus pluvialis, under stress
condition, such as salt stress, elevated temperature, heterotrophic media, among
others, can accumulate up to 2–3% dwt of astaxanthin (Rao et al. 2007; Sarada
et al. 2002).
Soares et al. (2019) identified and quantified major carotenoids in nine microalgae
species and found that Desmodesmus protuberans, Desmodesmus denticulatus var.
linearis, and Chlamydomonas planctogloea are lutein productors, and Coelastrum
4 Phycoremediation: A Sustainable Biorefinery Approach
119