The Effect of Pepper Extract on Coenzyme Q10 Production by Gluconobacter japonicus FM10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a component of the respiratory chain that is responsible for generating energy by transmitting electrons. Today, due to the increasing demand for CoQ10, its production is increasing. In this study, the effect of extract containing of carotenoid from bell pepper as a precursor was investigated on CoQ10 production by Gluconobacter japonicus FM10. For this purpose, at first the total carotenoid was extracted from four colors of bell peppers and then the minimum inhibitory concentration of these extracts was measured. In the next step, the effect of extracts was investigated on CoQ10 production in two phases of the exponential and stationary. The results showed that CoQ10 production was increased in the presence of the bell pepper extract (4.1 mg / L in the presence of red bell pepper extract). In fact, 1.5 times more than when no extract was added. Adding red pepper extract in the exponential phase also increased CoQ10 to 4.9 mg / L, while adding it in the stationary phase did not affect CoQ10 increasing. Therefore, it can be concluded that the carotenoid in bell pepper extract increase the production of CoQ10 by affecting cell growth and increasing it. Therefore, the carotenoid-extract of bell pepper can be introduced as a suitable precursor to increase CoQ10 production.