Carotenoids from Haloarchaea: Extraction, Fractionation, and Characterization

MARÍA SANDRA CHURIO; MICAELA CERLETTI; ROSANA E. DE CASTRO

Archaea: Methods and Protocols

Springer Nature

Año: 2022; p. 331 - 346

Carotenoids are bioactive molecules known to promote human health. Many extreme halophilic archaea synthesize carotenoids, mainly represented by C50 bacterioruberin (BR) and its derivatives. BR has a potent antioxidant capacity, even higher than that of β-carotene, thus, there is an increasing interest to advance the study of its biological properties as well as to extend its current applications. Here, we describe a procedure to extract and characterize carotenoids (enriched in BR) from haloarchaea using a “hyperpigmented” genetically modified strain of Haloferax volcanii.