BIOPIGMENTS PRODUCTION BY MARINE MICROALGAE

Microalgae pigments are of great industrial importance. Thus, the present work aimed to evaluate some pigment extraction procedures, in order to obtain Chlorophylls a, b and total carotenoids from Dunaliella salina and Nannochloropsis gaditana marine microalgae. There were tested dimethyl sulfoxide, acetone, and methanol as extractor solvents. They were also utilized mixed in some combinations. The best results with Dunaliella salina were obtained with a combination of 20% methanol and 80% acetone, resulting 6.87, 4.12, and 3.39 mg pigment g-1 of biomass for chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total carotenoids, respectively. Nannochloropsis gaditana showed similar carotenoid amount (3.39 mg g-1 of biomass), however higher chlorophyll a (14.44 mg g-1 of biomass) and b (12.11 mg g-1 of biomass) results.