Enhanced Production of Carotenoids from Microalgae: A Study of Anti-obesity Potential in C. elegans

Secondary metabolites from algae have a huge impact on human health and are being used to produce many value-added products by Industries. Generally, the pigments (Astaxanthin, Beta-carotene, Lutein, Fucoxanthin and Phycobilin) extracted from micro and macroalgae are become important source for manufacturing diverse products in nutraceuticals, food pharmaceuticals, aquaculture and textile industries. Herein, the carotenoid content from Scenedesmus sp. IS3 was attained and carotenoid accumulation was highly influenced by various stress factors like nitrogen starvation, high salinity (3%) and Methyl Jasmonate. In order to optimize the carotenoid production using various factors, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using Central Composite Design (CCD) was employed. Further, the modern techniques like Ultrasound and Microwave-Assisted Extraction (UAE and MAE) were used to extract the carotenoids. Then, the extracted carotenoids were evaluated for their anti-obesity potential using Caenorhabditis elegans for assessing the fat deposition.