Effect of Organic Carbon Sources on the Pigment Production in Scenedesmus Dimorphus (Turpin) Kützing

Microalgae and their products have received great attention for application in different industries. Mixotrophic and heterotrophic cultivations of microalgae produce higher biomass and valuable chemicals than photoautotrophic cultures. In the present study, the effect of organic carbon sources such as glucose, ethanol and glycerol consisting 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 % of each carbon sources in Erlenmeyer flasks on the total chlorophyll and carotenoids contents of a fresh water microalgae Scenedesmus dimorphus (Turpin) Kützing was investigated. Mixotrophic cultures yielded significantly higher pigment concentrations than photoautotrophic cultures. Among the different carbon sources tested, low concentrations of glucose gave higher concentrations of total chlorophyll (9.31 µg mL-1) and carotenoids (2.15 µg mL-1) contents than other carbon sources. Maximum chlorophyll and carotenoids contents were recorded on the 10th day of culture. Maximum ranges of values were 7.02-9.31 µg mL-1 for chlorophyll and 1.86-2.15 µg mL-1 for carotenoids contents. The highest values obtained by 1 gL-1glucose on 10th day were 9.31 and 2.15 µg mL-1 respectively for chlorophyll and carotenoids contents. Therefore, Scenedesmus dimorphus is a potential source of chlorophyll and carotenoids that can be scaled up in future for maximum production, thereby endowing them with significant economic value for industrial applications.