1989 Volume 15 Issue 3 Pages 546-551
A method for purification of carotenoid pigments from cultured carrot cells was established. First, carotenoids were extracted with acetone from cultured carrot cells, and then β-carotene was purified from the carotenoids by adsorption chromatography using activated alumina.
The relation between cell growth and carotenoid production of carrot cells in shake culture and air-lift culture was studied by using the purification method described above. The results indicated that carotenoids were growth-dependently produced from the early logarithmic phase of cell growth, and that productivity decreased in the stationary phase, even if medium was exchanged in the stationary phase.
Finally, 29.4 μg/l-medium of β-carotene was obtained from high-density cultured carrot cells using an air-lift column of 1 liter volume equipped with a draft tube.