The effect of temperature on cell growth and astaxanthin accumulation of Haematococcus pluvialis during a light–dark cyclic cultivation

Haematococcus pluvialis is the best source of natural astaxanthin known as “the king of antioxidants”. The mass outdoor culture is the most workable strategy for astaxanthin production, but the effects of daytime and night temperatures on the biomass concentration and astaxanthin content of H. pluvialis have received little attention. This study indicated that, raising the daytime or night temperature could stimulate night accumulation of astaxanthin until temperature up to 28 °C; the night biomass loss increased firstly and then decreased along with the daytime temperature reducing; decreasing the night temperature can lessen night biomass loss; the daytime temperature of 28 °C and the night temperature below 28 °C were optimal for achieving high biomass and astaxanthin content. Subsequently, the outdoor culture strategy has been improved and can increase the net biomass and astaxanthin productivities by 5 and 2.9-fold as compared to the former strategy.