Accumulation of α-tocopherol and β-carotene in Euglena gracilis Cells Under Autotrophic and Mixotrophic Culture Conditions

Abstract

The aim of the work was to find the mode of cultivation of unicellular flagellate Euglena gracilis, favorable for the simultaneous accumulation of α-tocopherol and β-carotene. Cells were grown either in photoautotrophic or photoheterotrophic conditions in the presence of 100 mM ethanol (variant Et) or 40 mM glutamate (variant Gt), or their combination (variant EtGt). The exogenous substrates significantly stimulated light-dependent growth of E. gracilis. The largest increase of biomass was recorded on the 20th day in the variant EtGt and exceeded the autotrophic control by 7 times. The content of β-carotene and chlorophyll (Chl) per cell in mixotrophic cultures exceeded the control by 2–3 and 1.6–2 times, respectively. At the same time, α-tocopherol accumulation in autotrophic cells was greater than in the cells of mixotrophic cultures by 2–7 times. Total yield of tocopherol per unit volume of culture medium, which depended not only on its intracellular content, but also on the amount of accumulated biomass was highest in EtGt variant. A correlation between the accumulation of the antioxidants and the equilibrium concentration of oxygen in the growth medium, which depended on the intensities of photosynthesis and respiration has been analyzed.