Zuoyan Zhu

1. Introduction Astaxanthin (3,3′-Dihydroxy-β, β-carotene-4,4′-dione) is a high-value molecule classified as a ketocarotenoid, synthesized through a complex pathway, and commonly found as a unique red-orange pigment in many animals such as salmon, trout, flamingos, and crustaceans (shrimp, crab, krill, and crayfish) [,]. Although all animals cannot synthesize carotenoids de novo, except aphids (Aphis spp.) [,], they accumulate it from zooplankton, which consumes astaxanthin from phytoplankton [].

REACTION ENGINEERING, KINETICS AND CATALYSIS Zuoyan Zhu, Zuoyan Zhu State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, P. R.