Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidantwith various health benefits such as prevention of age-relatedmacular degeneration
and improvement of the immune system, liver and heart function. To improve the post-harvesting
stability of astaxanthin used in food, feed and nutraceutical industries, the biomass of the high astaxanthin producing
alga Haematococcus pluvialis was dried by spray- or freeze-drying and under vacuum or air at−20 °C to
37 °C for 20 weeks. Freeze-drying led to 41% higher astaxanthin recovery compared to commonly-used spraydrying.
Low storage temperature (−20 °C, 4 °C) and vacuum-packing also showed higher astaxanthin stability
with as little as 12.3 ± 3.1% degradation during 20 weeks of storage. Cost-benefit analysis showed that freezedrying
followed by vacuum-packed storage at −20 °C can generate AUD$600 higher profit compared to spraydrying
from 100 kg H. pluvialis powder. Therefore, freeze-drying can be suggested as a mild and more profitable
method for ensuring longer shelf life of astaxanthin from H. pluvialis.