Overview
Astaxanthin, a caroteniod compound, has found use as a topical antioxidant and as an ingredient for human nutritional supplements.Currently synthetic astaxanthin is added to feeds prepared for production of salmonids and red sea bream in aquaculture to provide a source of this carotenoid compound.
There is an increasing demand for biological or "natural" sources of carotenoid pigments for use as food colorants, feed additives and nutritional supplements. This invention provides the nucleotide sequence of cDNA obtained from flowering Adonis aestivalis (in conjunction with the ketolase cDNAs as disclosed in University of Maryland Patent No. 6,551,807) to produce polypetides that catalyze the efficient conversion of b-carotene into astaxanthin.
For licensing information please contact the University of Maryland 301-405-3947 or [email protected]
Contact Info
UM Ventures
0134 Lee Building
7809 Regents Drive
College Park, MD 20742
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (301) 405-3947 | Fax: (301) 314-9502