ABSTRACT
Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. was a spin-off from its parent musical instrument company, Nippon Gakki Co. Ltd. (now Yamaha Co. Ltd.) and became an independent company in 1955, supplying the latest
18.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 313 18.1.1 About Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd .................................................................................. 313 18.1.2 Some Background on the Research and Development into Microalgal
Biotechnology by Yamaha Motor ............................................................................. 314 18.2 An Overview of Microalgae Mass Culture in Functional Foods and the
Nutraceutical Industry .......................................................................................................... 314 18.3 Research and Development into the Commercial Production of Microalgae
at Yamaha Motor .................................................................................................................. 316 18.4 Astaxanthin Raw Material Manufacturing Process ............................................................. 318
18.4.1 Outline of the Factory and Manufacturing Process ................................................. 318 18.4.2 Quality Assurance System Under Good Manufacturing Practice Conditions ......... 320
18.5 Astaxanthin and its Source, Hematococcus Alga ................................................................ 321 18.5.1 Astaxanthin ............................................................................................................... 321 18.5.2 Structure and Source of Astaxanthin ....................................................................... 322 18.5.3 Antioxidative Activity of Astaxanthin ..................................................................... 322 18.5.4 Haematococcus Algae .............................................................................................. 322
18.6 Bene ts of Astaxanthin for Human Health Management .................................................... 323 18.6.1 Astaxanthin and Atopic Dermatitis ......................................................................... 323 18.6.2 Astaxanthin and Brain Health .................................................................................. 323 18.6.3 Astaxanthin and Metabolic Syndrome ..................................................................... 324
18.7 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................................ 326 Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................... 326 References ...................................................................................................................................... 326
motorcycles in Shizuoka, Japan. At the time more than 100 motorcycle companies existed in Japan; now only four companies exist, including Yamaha Motor. Yamaha Motor is mainly concerned with manufacturing and supplying motorcycles, marine products, and many other types of power products worldwide. Approximately 90% of its sales come from motorcycles, marine products, and power products: only 10% of all their sales are generated in Japan, the remaining 90% being overseas orders. In 2006, Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. pioneered a new business concerned with biotechnology, which Yamaha Motor originally developed to provide bulk astaxanthin as a functional food ingredient.
