Extraction and Analysis of Carotenes and Xanthophylls Produced by Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.

Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, a heterobasidiomycetous yeast that represents the teleomorphic state of Phaffia rhodozyma, is used as a natural source of several carotenoids, such as the xanthophyll astaxanthin. Here, we describe the culture procedure for the production of carotenoids in X. dendrorhous and a simple and rapid analytical method for the optimized extraction and HPLC determination of intracellular β-carotene, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, and zeaxanthin.