EXTRACTION OF OIL-SOLUBLE PIGMENT FROM MICRO-ORGANISMS

摘要

The present invention relates to a microalgae extract consisting of: ° 40-95 wt.% of a polar phase comprising: a. 15-75 wt.% water; b. 20-80 wt.% of an organic water miscible solvent selected from alcohols, acetone and combinations thereof; c. 0-10 wt.%) of sodium chloride; d. up to 40 wt.%) of other water soluble components; ° 5-60 wt.% of an apolar phase comprising: a. 70-99.5 wt.% of oil selected from triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides, phosphatides, free fatty acids and combinations thereof; b. 0.05-25 wt.%) of oil-soluble pigment; c. up to 30 wt.%) of other oil soluble components; and ° optionally other components, said optional other components being present in a concentration that does not exceed 9% by weight of the water contained in the extract wherein the extract contains less than 0.5% by weight of the apolar phase of apolar organic solvent selected from C5-C10 alkanes. The aforementioned extract can easily be downstream processed to produce a pigment containing oil in high yield or it may be used as such, e.g. in the production of a foodstuffs or animal feed. The invention further provides a process of extracting oil- soluble pigment from wet biomass of micro-organisms.