17 Carotenoids as Food Additives
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microalgae, yeast, flesh of some fish (e.g. salmon, trout), carapace of many crustaceans (e.g. krill, shrimp, crabs, lobsters, crayfish), shellfish and feathers of some
birds (e.g. flamingo, red ibis, quail) (Lorenz and Cysewski 2000; Stewart et al. 2008;
Zhu et al. 2009; Mendes-Pinto et al. 2012). These animals are unable to synthesize
astaxanthin de novo; astaxanthin is biosynthesized by microalgae or phytoplankton,
these are foods for zooplanktons, which in turn are ingested by fish, insects or crustaceans, and finally, astaxanthin is absorbed and deposited in these mentioned animals
giving them mostly a pinkish hue (Kitahara 1984; Foss 1987; Nakano et al. 1995;
Lorenz and Cysewski 2000; Moriel et al. 2005). But, for example, in lobsters, astaxanthin can be bound to proteins, and the astaxanthin–protein complexes exhibit a
blue tint (van Wijk et al. 2005).
(3R,3’R)-Astaxanthin less commonly occurs in nature. It was isolated as the
major carotenoid from the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly
Phaffia rhodozyma) (Andrewes and Starr 1976), and as a minor carotenoid in a
mixture with (3R,3’S)- and (3S,3’S)-astaxanthin from eggs of lobster (Homarus
gammarus) (Rønneberg et al. 1980). Astaxanthin is a strong, deep red-colouring
agent (Guerin et al. 2003; Tanaka et al. 2012). It is one of the most commercially
valuable carotenoids on the market (Berman et al. 2015), a predicted sales volume of
astaxanthin is increasing year by year. Astaxanthin and β-carotene together make-up
almost half of the carotenoid market. Currently, the global market is dominated by the
synthetic pigment derived from petrochemical precursors (Li et al. 2011), because
natural astaxanthin is quite expensive. Synthetic astaxanthin is often a mixture of Rand S-enantiomers (Capelli et al. 2013) and not suitable as a nutraceutical supplement without further complex and cost-intensive purification steps before application. Additionally, consumers’ demand for natural products has raised interest in an
environmentally friendly, natural production of astaxanthin by microbial hosts (Lee
and Schmidt-Dannert 2002; George et al. 2004; Cutzu et al. 2013; Zhu et al. 2014).
Therefore, some biological production systems have also been developed [e.g. the
heterobasidious red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly termed Phaffia
rhodozyma), freshwater green microalgae (e.g. Haematococcus pluvialis, Chlorella
zofingiensis and Chlorococcum sp.) and bacteria (like the marine Agrobacterium
aurantiacum)]. Among the exploited sources, Haematococcus pluvialis contains the
highest level of astaxanthin (>30 g/kg dry biomass), and therefore, it is considered to
be the most promising and less expensive natural source of astaxanthin (Lorenz and
Cysewski 2000; Dufosse et al. 2005; Higuera-Ciapara et al. 2006; Del Campo et al.
2007). To a lesser extent, astaxanthin can also be extracted from shrimp (Pandalus
borealis) or krill species (Euphausia sp.) (Spolaore et al. 2006; Del Campo et al.
2007; Tanaka et al. 2012).
Within the EU and the USA, astaxanthin (E161j) is considered as a food dye. The
FDA considers natural astaxanthin safe and has approved astaxanthin and astaxanthin
dimethyldisuccinate, Haematococcus algae meal and X. dendrorhous as food colourings and additives for specific uses in animal and feeds (e.g. carp, salmonids, red sea
bream, shrimps, ornamental fish like cichlids, danios, koi, goldfish, gouramis and
tetras—however, it shall not exceed 80 mg/kg) and it is currently used in a hundredton scale (Molino et al. 2018; Code of Federal Regulations 2019). According to
425
microalgae, yeast, flesh of some fish (e.g. salmon, trout), carapace of many crustaceans (e.g. krill, shrimp, crabs, lobsters, crayfish), shellfish and feathers of some
birds (e.g. flamingo, red ibis, quail) (Lorenz and Cysewski 2000; Stewart et al. 2008;
Zhu et al. 2009; Mendes-Pinto et al. 2012). These animals are unable to synthesize
astaxanthin de novo; astaxanthin is biosynthesized by microalgae or phytoplankton,
these are foods for zooplanktons, which in turn are ingested by fish, insects or crustaceans, and finally, astaxanthin is absorbed and deposited in these mentioned animals
giving them mostly a pinkish hue (Kitahara 1984; Foss 1987; Nakano et al. 1995;
Lorenz and Cysewski 2000; Moriel et al. 2005). But, for example, in lobsters, astaxanthin can be bound to proteins, and the astaxanthin–protein complexes exhibit a
blue tint (van Wijk et al. 2005).
(3R,3’R)-Astaxanthin less commonly occurs in nature. It was isolated as the
major carotenoid from the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly
Phaffia rhodozyma) (Andrewes and Starr 1976), and as a minor carotenoid in a
mixture with (3R,3’S)- and (3S,3’S)-astaxanthin from eggs of lobster (Homarus
gammarus) (Rønneberg et al. 1980). Astaxanthin is a strong, deep red-colouring
agent (Guerin et al. 2003; Tanaka et al. 2012). It is one of the most commercially
valuable carotenoids on the market (Berman et al. 2015), a predicted sales volume of
astaxanthin is increasing year by year. Astaxanthin and β-carotene together make-up
almost half of the carotenoid market. Currently, the global market is dominated by the
synthetic pigment derived from petrochemical precursors (Li et al. 2011), because
natural astaxanthin is quite expensive. Synthetic astaxanthin is often a mixture of Rand S-enantiomers (Capelli et al. 2013) and not suitable as a nutraceutical supplement without further complex and cost-intensive purification steps before application. Additionally, consumers’ demand for natural products has raised interest in an
environmentally friendly, natural production of astaxanthin by microbial hosts (Lee
and Schmidt-Dannert 2002; George et al. 2004; Cutzu et al. 2013; Zhu et al. 2014).
Therefore, some biological production systems have also been developed [e.g. the
heterobasidious red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly termed Phaffia
rhodozyma), freshwater green microalgae (e.g. Haematococcus pluvialis, Chlorella
zofingiensis and Chlorococcum sp.) and bacteria (like the marine Agrobacterium
aurantiacum)]. Among the exploited sources, Haematococcus pluvialis contains the
highest level of astaxanthin (>30 g/kg dry biomass), and therefore, it is considered to
be the most promising and less expensive natural source of astaxanthin (Lorenz and
Cysewski 2000; Dufosse et al. 2005; Higuera-Ciapara et al. 2006; Del Campo et al.
2007). To a lesser extent, astaxanthin can also be extracted from shrimp (Pandalus
borealis) or krill species (Euphausia sp.) (Spolaore et al. 2006; Del Campo et al.
2007; Tanaka et al. 2012).
Within the EU and the USA, astaxanthin (E161j) is considered as a food dye. The
FDA considers natural astaxanthin safe and has approved astaxanthin and astaxanthin
dimethyldisuccinate, Haematococcus algae meal and X. dendrorhous as food colourings and additives for specific uses in animal and feeds (e.g. carp, salmonids, red sea
bream, shrimps, ornamental fish like cichlids, danios, koi, goldfish, gouramis and
tetras—however, it shall not exceed 80 mg/kg) and it is currently used in a hundredton scale (Molino et al. 2018; Code of Federal Regulations 2019). According to