Microalgae are microscopic photosynthetic organisms that occupy the base of food chains in their natural environments. These organisms constitute natural compounds such as β-carotene that can be commercialized for pharmaceutical and nutritional purposes. One of the richest sources of these compounds is the microalgae Dunaliella salina. This research describes the simple, rapid and efficient method for the extraction and quantification of carotenoid contents in Dunaliella salina based on spectrophotometric analyses. Several parameters were experienced to maximize the efficiency of carotenoids extraction, such as the cell disruption method (with or without common laboratory vortex mixer), the extraction time (after 2 or 30 minutes), the centrifugation time (2 or 5 minutes at 13000 rpm) and use of different empirical correlations (based on Eijckelhoff and Dekker, 1997). For photosynthetic pigments extraction, 50 mg fresh biomass of microalga was extracted with one mL 80% acetone. Absorbance of samples was read at 412, 431, 460 and 480 nm by using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Data obtained clearly indicated that using 50 mg fresh biomass + 1 mL acetone 80% + 1 min vortex + 30 min extraction time + 5 min centrifugation time, for carotenoids extraction can produce higher concentration than the other extraction methods. Thus, it is proposed that this protocol could be used for the extraction and quantification of carotenoid contents from microalgae for biotechnological purpose.
