Effective Astaxanthin Extraction from Wet Haematococcus pluvialis Using Switchable Hydrophilicity Solvents

A novel approach based on switchable hydrophilicity solvents (SHS) was developed for extracting astaxanthin from wet microalgae. Dimethylaminocyclohexane (DMCHA) was used to extract astaxanthin from wet Haematococcus pluvialis, and the extraction efficiency reached 87.2%. Astaxanthin was recovered from the DMCHA without distillation by simply adding H2O and CO2.