Abstract
The global cosmetic market is promptly growing, showing a strong boost with the growth of economic well-being. In this context, the demand of innovative, more and more specific cosmetic ingredients has been the key for searching alternative, preferably naturally-based, active components. Microalgae represent one of the most attracting microorganisms and natural deposit for bioactive compounds for their peculiar compositions and properties. In the cosmetic sector, their efficient application has recently been highlighted by the placing on the market of different cosmetic preparations. A powerful antioxidant, 550 times more effective than vitamin E, with enormous potential for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, is astaxanthin. Although high-quality astaxanthin can be obtained from microalgae, particularly from H. pluvialis specie, actually the major part of the market is occupied by the synthetic form (99%), conferring substantial differences between their price. In fact, algal-based astaxanthin costs ?6000 €/Kg, while the synthetic form 600 €/kg. Thus, along with novel natural product launch, the development of cost-effective technologies able to match the existing ones, represents the major challenge for the microalgae application. This study aims to determine the feasibility of microalgal-based astaxanthin production, by exploring both procedural issues and costs evaluation.
