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Astaxanthin’s role in sustainable animal agriculture
As well as being a viable protein alternative in food for human consumption, microalgae also offer opportunities for the animal feed market.
Astaxanthin is a red-coloured micronutrient that occurs in certain algae and is often used in human and animal nutrition for its antioxidant properties. Given its unique molecular structure, the antioxidant activity of astaxanthin is considered to be significantly highly than that of other carotenoids, such as zeaxanthin, lutein, canthaxanthin, ß-carotene (ten times higher) and α-tocopherol (100 times higher). Compared with vitamins, these antioxidants are also more than 6000 times stronger than vitamin C and 550 times stronger than vitamin E.
California-based biotech startup, Bio-Kai, is producing 100% organic, non-GMO astaxanthin to feed salmon, chicken, and cattle. The startup uses a method of organic biosynthesis to naturally extract astaxanthin and cultivates it via fermentation of proprietary yeast. By using fermentation, Bio-Kai says it can produce large amounts of high-quality biosynthetic astaxanthin, which is identical to the one found in nature, but at a much lower cost to both planet and wallet.
With 62% of all cereal crops grown in Europe ending up as animal feed, raising livestock on less resource-intensive, alternative forms of protein will be key in establishing more sustainable and secure global food systems in future.
