β-carotene can be extracted from fungus Blakeslea trispora, marine algae Dunaliella salina or genetically modified yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, starting with xylose as a substrate. Chemical synthesis uses either a method developed by BASF or a Grignard reaction utilized by Hoffman-La Roche.
The world market for synthetic retinol is primarily for animal feed, leaving approximately 13% for a combination of food, prescription medication and dietary supplement use. Industrial methods for the production of retinol rely on chemical synthesis. The first industrialized synthesis of retinol was achieved by the company Hoffmann-La Roche in 1947. In the following decades, eight other companies developed their own processes. β-ionone, synthesized from acetone, is the essential starting point for all industrial syntheses. Each process involves elongating the unsaturated carbon chain. Pure retinol is extremely sensitive to oxidization and is prepared and transported at low temperatures and oxygen-free atmospheres. When prepared as a dietary supplement or food additive, retinol is stabilized as the ester derivatives retinyl acetate or retinyl palmitate. Prior to 1999, three companies, Roche, BASF and Rhone-Poulenc controlled 96% of global vitamin A sales. In 2001, the European Commission imposed total fines of 855.22 million euros on these and five other companies for their participation in eight distinct market-sharing and price-fixing cartels that dated back to 1989. Roche sold its vitamin division to DSM in 2003. DSM and BASF have the major share of industrial production. A biosynthesis alternative utilizes genetically engineered yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae to synthesize retinal and retinol, using xylose as a starting substrate. This was accompished by having the yeast first synthesize β-carotene and then the cleaving enzyme β-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase to yield retinal.