Development of a new method for simultaneous extraction of chlorophylls and carotenoids from microalgal biomass

There are still limitations in the pigment extraction methods used in microalgae biomass, especially for laboratory scale. This work aimed to develop a simple method for simultaneous extraction of chlorophylls and carotenoids from the microalgae Spirulina sp. and Scenedesmus obliquus. The extraction was performed using a methanol/chloroform (2:1 v/v) mixture with different homogenization times (30, 60 and 120 min); after exhaustive extraction with chloroform, acetone, ethyl acetate, and ethanol were tested and compared with the reference maceration method (MM). Satisfactory recovery values, mostly between 101.1 and 124.2%, were obtained with 30 min of homogenization and extraction with ethanol after chloroform (PM30E). In general, the chlorophyll and carotenoid profiles obtained by the PM30E presented fewer isomers and possible degradation compounds. PM30E showed a reduction of about five times the volume of organic solvents and was four times faster than the MM. In addition, this method provided greater analytical frequency and security for the analyst, since PM30E is performed in a closed system of mechanical homogenization.