The Science of Alt Protein: Microbial astaxanthin production and extraction strategy considerations

Name: The Science of Alt Protein: Microbial astaxanthin production and extraction strategy considerations
Start: 2026-01-08T13:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-01-08T14:15:00-05:00

Past

Virtual Event

January 8 @ 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm EST

Learn how Professor Chatzifragkou is using microbial fermentation to turn rapeseed meal, an agricultural waste, into a useful, naturally sourced product.

Afroditi Chatzifragkou, PhD
University of Reading, UK

Watch now

Event description

Valorisation of agri-food processing by-products and waste materials holds significant potential for microbially produced carotenoids. Join Professor Chatzifragkou for a webinar on January 8th, where she’ll discuss how she and her team have investigated the feasibility of rapeseed meal, a readily available by-product produced during rapeseed oil extraction, as a substrate for natural astaxanthin production by the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous. Aspects such as optimisation of media hydrolysis and fermentation process will be presented, alongside strategies for the efficient extraction of astaxanthin from yeast biomass.

Meet the speaker

Afroditi Chatzifragkou, PhD

PROFESSOR OF SUSTAINABLE BIOPROCESSING
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF READING, UK

Afroditi Chatzifragkou is a Professor of Sustainable Bioprocessing in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading. Afroditi’s expertise lies in food bioprocessing. Her research focuses on microbial fermentations and biorefineries, alternative proteins (plants, insects, seaweeds), as well as on optimisation of green extraction technologies (supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasonication, enzymes) for functional compounds and food applications.