Investigation of growth, protein and astaxanthin amounts of chlorophyta Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus acutus species inoculated in different culture medium

Abstract

In this study aims to determine the changes in growth, astaxanthin, protein, lipid, caretenoid and chlorophylla, b content by cultivating Scenedesmus acutus and Chlorella vulgaris species for 12 days in 9 different culture media (BG11, Jaworski's, Cheese Whey, Different Molasses Concentrations, Mineral water, Tap Water, and Nitrogen-Free Jaworski's Medium). The analyses revealed that in all concentrations of industrial waste molasses, both species exhibited much higher growth and protein content compared to other culture media. It was determined that the astaxanthin content in Chlorella vulgaris reached a maximum value of 2.718 mu g ml- 1 in cultures prepared with 4 g L- 1 concentration of molasses culture medium, while in Scenedesmus acutus, this value increased to 2,945 mu g ml- 1. The lipid content reached its maximum value on the sixth day in cultures of Scenedesmus acutus(83,15%) and Chlorella vulgaris(83,05%) prepared with molassses concentration of 4 g L- 1. Carotenoid, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b levels were found to be significantly lower in culture media prepared with whey compared to other media. Determining the optimal culture media contributes to increased efficiency in algae biomass production, enabling more sustainable and economical production of high-value bioactive compounds such as astaxanthin.