Carotenoid production by Rhodotorula glutinis YB-252 in solid-state fermentation

Carotenoids represent a group of valuable molecules for the pharmaceutical, chemical, food and feed industries. In this study, a Plackett–Burman design was used to evaluate the effect of pH, moisture, carbon source, inoculum concentration, time and temperature of incubation and the concentration of inducer. Also, the influence of a metabolic inhibitor of the β-carotene accumulation was tested, demonstrating that a level of 125 ppm permitted the accumulation of lycopene without concomitant production of β-carotene. Results showed that the highest obtained lycopene concentration was 340 mg L−1. Among the parameters evaluated, the inducer concentration, the fermentation time and the percentage of moisture in the system, are factors having a statistically significant effect on carotenoid production by Rhodotorula glutinis YB-252 in solid-state fermentation.