Enhancement of pigments production in the green microalga Dunaliella salina (PSBDU05) under optimized culture condition

Abstract The present study was aimed to assess the influence of various culture conditions (pH -6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8; salinity-18, 23, 27, 32, 37 PSU; temperature-23, 26, 30, 32, 34 °C; photoperiod-12:12, 18:6, 20:4, 6:18, 24:00 h L:D; and light intensity-50, 100, 150, 200, 250 μ mol m2 s−1) on the production of chlorophylls (‘a’ and ‘b’), total carotenoids and β-carotene at laboratory scale. The growth, biomass, and pigments were assessed once in two days for 10 days and the findings revealed that the D. salina can grow at any given salinity but the pigments production rate was varied by one to another. The growth, biomass, chlorophylls ‘a’, ‘b’, total carotenoids, and β-carotene were found to be increased to 1.72, 5.24, 1.65, 2.04, 2.18, 3.28 folds higher under optimized conditions (pH -7, salinity-37 PSU, temperature-23 °C, photoperiod-12:12 h L:D, and light intensity-200 μ mol m2 s−1) when compared to normal conditions.