Combined effect of LED light color and nitrogen source on growth, pigments composition and oxidative stress in Arthrospira platensis

Artificial lighting with light-emitting diodes (LED) is proposed as a suitable solution to reach stable yearly production of high value molecules from microalgae under unfavorable climates. However, available studies are inconsistent regarding the effect of LED color on cultures performance. This study examined the response of Arthrospira platensis to three different LED lighting conditions (white, red, and red-blue 70:30) when is grown in three media with different nitrogen composition. Growth, phycobiliproteins and lipophilic pigments content were determined. In addition, antioxidant enzymes (GST, lipid peroxidation) and morphology were analyzed to enlighten new perspectives on the health status of microalgae production. The highest biomass production (2.13 g/L) was achieved under red LED when Zarrouk medium was supplemented with urea. Regarding pigment production (phycobilins, chlorophyll a and β- carotene), the most desirable combination was red: blue together with urea supplementation. In addition, this combination showed a high biomass production (2.03 g/L) and low expression of antioxidant enzymatic activity. This research shows a novel combination of LED technology and nutrients to enhance microalgae biomass production and high value metabolites with a lower economic cost.