Supercritical CO2/Ethanol extraction of astaxanthin from blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) shell waste

Astaxanthin (AX)is the major naturally occurring carotenoid pigment in marine crustaceans and the flesh of salmonids. These organisms are unable to synthesize AX de novo and when farmed cornmercially, require it in their feed. The high cost of synthetic AX has promoted research into new natural sources of the pigment, such as crustacean wastes. in this work, AX from demineralized crab (Callinectes sapidus)shell waste was extracted with a mixture of supercriticai CO, and erhanoi as a cosoivenr. The efecr of total solids load, pressure and temperature was assessed by response su face niethodology (RSM). Extracted AX was determined by HPLC. The experimental data were fitted to a second order model whereby the conditions for rnnritnutn extraction yield were defined (I 34 MPa, 4SC and solids load of 25 g). Pressure and solids load were the most important factors anecting AX extraction yields.