Carotenoids are tetraterpenoid group of pigments which represent a large group of red, orange, and yellow natural metabolites mainly involved in regulation of many metabolic processes. Microalgae are known to have carotenoid pigment along with chlorophyll pigments. Carotenoid induction in microalgae using physical methods were extensively studied, hence, the current study describes the chemical induced carotenogenesis viz., salinity stress, pH variation, sodium acetate and different solvents. Algal cultures (Tetradesmus sp. NTAI04, Tetradesmus sp. NTAI05, Tetraselmis sp. NTAI08, Chroococcus sp. NTAI11, Phormidium sp. NTAI12, Oscillatoria sp. NTAI13) were screened on the basis of biomass accumulation and total carotenoid content. In this, Tetradesmus sp. NTAI04, a green unicellular microalgae showed highest yield of carotenoids than the other algal species. It was mass cultivated and grown under chemical mediated stress such as salinity, pH, sodium acetate and solvents were used to induce the process of carotenogenesis. In salinity stress, it showed higher rate of carotenoids when compared to other stress such as pH and sodium acetate.
Carotenoids, Biomass, PGA
