The rigid cell wall of Phaffia rhodozyma severely hampers the availability of astaxanthin because astaxanthin is accumulated in lipid droplets in the cytoplasmatic membranes, so its cell wall must be modified by suitable methods to enhance the absorption of pigment for animals and the extractability of astaxanthin. The present study investigated the production of lytic enzyme with Bacillus circulans, the extraction of astaxanthin after hydrolysis of yeast-walls with the lytic enzyme, the stability of astaxa...