ABSTRACT
The influence of ?-ionone and ergosterol on the growth and the yield of CoQ_ 10 in yeast was investigated. The results indicated that ?-ionone had the stimulative effect on the biosynthesis of CoQ_ 10 in yeast, and 28.3% increase of the CoQ_ 10 content in the cell was observed when the concentration of ?-ionone in the medium was 0.208?10~ -3 mol/L. Little ergosterol also had the same effect with ?-ionone, while 31.3% increase of the CoQ_ 10 content in the cell was observed when the concentration of ergosterol in the medium was 0.15?10~ -4 mol/L. However, the biosynthesis of CoQ_ 10 was inhibited when the concentration of ergosterol was 0.60?10~ -4 mol/L. Addition of ?-ionone and ergosterol to the medium resulted in 36.1% increase over the control. The results showed that the cell could effectively accumulate more CoQ_ 10 with the addition of ?-ionone and ergosterol to the medium.