A path has been opened to mass-produce 'lutein', a health supplement widely used to help prevent presbyopia or cataracts, in an environmentally friendly manner. The research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed a new technology to produce lutein more safely and quickly using microorganisms than existing methods. It is expected to be utilized in the development of various health supplements and pharmaceutical raw materials in the future.
KAIST announced on the 13th that a research team led by Professor Lee Sang-yup from the Department of Bioengineering has developed a technology that speeds up the operation of enzymes that produce lutein, successfully producing lutein in an environmentally friendly manner. The result was published in the international academic journal 'Nature Synthesis' on the 4th.
Lutein is obtained by extracting it from marigold petals or microalgae or by chemically synthesizing it. However, there were drawbacks in that the production volume was low and the expense was high. There were also concerns about environmental pollution during the extraction process. To solve these problems, the research team decided to use microorganisms that feed on glucose, a sugar common like table sugar, to produce lutein.
In particular, this research utilized a safe microorganism recognized as suitable for producing food and pharmaceutical raw materials, 'Corynebacterium glutamicum.' This strain is widely used in industrial amino acid production due to its high safety and utility. The research team meticulously designed the metabolic pathway to produce lutein in this strain and applied 'electron channeling' technology to increase enzyme reaction rates.
Electron channeling is a technology that facilitates the flow of electrons necessary for enzymes to produce lutein. It helps to position the enzymes involved in lutein production close together to ensure effective enzyme activity and is designed to ensure that electrons and raw materials gather effectively. As a result, they produced 1.78 g/L of lutein in just 54 hours, which is a production rate of 32.88 mg/L per hour, significantly faster and more efficient than existing plant extraction methods.
Researcher Eun Hyun-min, who led the study, noted, 'This research addresses the bottleneck of microbial-based lutein production and establishes an industrially competitive environmentally friendly process.' He added, 'It is expected that this will accelerate the practical application of various natural product production technologies, including lutein.'
The research team plans to advance the commercialization of this technology through Silicobio, a start-up company founded by Professor Lee.
Professor Lee Sang-yup remarked, 'The metabolic engineering technology utilizing microorganisms is emerging as a next-generation strategy that surpasses existing plant-based and chemical synthesis methods.' He continued, 'We will continue to research efficient production of high-value natural products.'
References
Nature Synthesis (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-025-00826-3