DYES & PIGMENTS

TOPIC:MICROBIAL
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
• A pigment is a substance that appears a certain color because it
selectively absorbs wavelength of light.
• Pigments are insoluble coloring matter mostly organic and inorganic
(mineral origin) have been used for the coloration of metal wood,
stone, and textile material. Pigments have no direct affinity to textile
fibers. They are fixed on textile materials with the help of a binding
agent in form of a thin invisible coating.
Pigment Definition in the Life Sciences:
In biology, the term "pigment" is defined somewhat differently, where a pigment refers to any colored molecule found in a cell, regardless of whether or not it is soluble. So, although hemoglobin, chlorophyll, melanin, and bilirubin .as examples don't fit the narrow definition of pigment in science, they are biological pigments.
Classification of Pigment :
Pigments are two types. These are

ORGANIC INORGANIC

• Azo pigments • White pigments  

• Phthalocyanine pigments • Colored inorganic pigments
• Quinacridone pigments
• Iso-indoline pigments
 Properties/Qualities of a Good Pigment:
• minimum particle sizes
• freely mixing power.
• chemically inert.
• stability on dyed and printed goods
• light, and abrasion resistance.
• Insoluble in water and most of the solvents
• Pigment requires the help if a binder for gluing.
• Non-combustible
• Specific gravity
• Purity and crystalline structure
• applied to all fiber
• Should be cheap
• Can be organic or inorganic in nature
• Long lasting
 en t s
pi gm
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 • A number of different kinds of pigments are produced by
microorganisms. The pigments vary in colour from red,
yellow, orange, purple etc.,

• Microbial pigments have numerous beneficial properties

like anticancer, anti proliferative, immunosuppressive,
antibiotics, biodegradability etc.
Some of microbial pigments are:
• β –Carotene production
β –Carotene is a yellowish carotenoid pigments also known
as pro-vitamin A. It acts as antioxidant and has potential
positive properties against certain diseases.
Following microbes are mainly used for β –Carotene
production:
• Blakesleatrispora
• Mucorcircinelloides
• Phycomyces blakesleeanus
 Arpink Red Production
• It is the red pigment produced by the strain Penicillium
oxalicum obtained from the soil. It contains chromophore
of anthraquinone type14 .
The amounts of red pigment Arpink Red in various food
products was amount recommended
S. No Food product Amount of Arpink Red (in mg/kg)
1. Meat products 100
2. Meat and meat products analogues 200
3. Milk products 150
4. Ice cream 150
5. Confectionery 300
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Production

It is the yellow food colourant and its use is permitted in many

countries. Because of it specific affinity, it is used mainly for cereal-
based products. Applications of riboflavin somewhere limited due to its
bitter taste and naturally slight odour.
Fermentation with Ashbyagossypi is preferred because of higher yield
and greater genetic stability; riboflavin levels of over 15g/L have been
reported
Level of production of riboflavin from
microbes

Weak overproducer
100 mg/L or less Clostridium acetobutylicum
Moderate overproducer
Upto 600mg/L Candida guilliermundiior
Debaryomyces subglobosus
Strong overproducer
Over 1g/L Eremothecium ashbyiiand,
Ashbyagossypi
 Monascus pigments production
Monascus spp. belongs to the group of Ascomycetes and particularly to the family
of Monascaceae.

• Monascus fungi can convert starchy substrates into several metabolites such as
alcohols, antibiotic agent and pigment
as coloring agent in food provided an additional advantage
of specific flavor in the products.
• Red colorants, orange colorants and yellowish colorants
 Some other microbial pigments are:
LYCOPENE PRODUCTION
It is a red open-chain unsaturated carotenoid pigment, acyclic isomer of
beta-carotene, and longer than any other carotenoid.It is produced by
blakeslea trispora fungus
Fusarium sporotrichioides fungus was used by Jones etal to manufacture the
colourant and antioxidant lycopene.
BACTERIAL PIGMENTS:
• Astaxanthin Pink-red
• Canthaxanthin Dark- red
• Zeaxanthin yellow
• Bacillus Brown
• Brevibacterium sp. Orange yellow
• Corynebacterium michigannise Greyish to creamish
• Prodigiosin Red
•Rhodococcus maris Bluish- red
•Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous Pink -red
•Haloferax alexandrinus Canthaxanthin Dark Red
•Staphylococcus aureus Golden Yellow
•Staphyloxanthin Zeaxanthin Golden Yellow
•Chromobacterium violaceum Violacein Purple
•Serratia marcescens, Serratia rubidaea, Prodigiosin Red
•Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pyocyanin Blue-green
ALGA:
Dunaliella salina β-carotene
Red Chlorococcum Lutein
Hematococcus Canthaxanthin
•Fungi
•Aspergillus sp. Orange-red

•Aspergillus galucus Dark -red

•Blakeslea trispora β -caroteneCream

•Helminthosporium avenae Bronze

•Penicilllum cyclopium Orange

•Penicilllum nalgeovensis Yellow

•Monascus sp. Monascorubramin Rubropunctatin Red Orange
•Monascus roseus Canthaxanthin Orange-Pink
•Penicillium oxalicum Anthraquinone Red
•Blakeslea trispora Lycopene Red

•Cordyceps unilateralis Naphtoquinone Deep blood-red

•Ashbya gossypi Riboflavin Yellow
•β-carotene Yellow-orange
Factors affecting microbial pigment production
A colour of interest can be obtained by keeping in mind the following
factors that effect the microbial pigments production:
 TEMPERATURE .
 pH
 Carbon source:
 Nitrogen source
 Minerals
Method of isolation and cultivation of pigments:
Steps:
• Sample Collection
• Characterization and Identification of pure cultures of
• pigment producing bacteria:
• Screening of pigment
• Extraction of pigments from pigment producing bacteria
Benefits and Applications of Microbial pigments

• Pigments produced by microorganisms have been a subject of intense

research in the present decades because of its potential for applications.
• offer solutions to the problems of various industries especially food
colorant industry.
• Fermentative production of colorants has a number of benefits that
include: cheaper production, readily available raw materials, high yields
and no seasonal variations .
• They have application in both textile and food industries
• utilized as colorants for both foodstuffs and materials.
• food additive that may have some anticancer effects.
• The pigments obtained from bacteria offer the following benefits and
advantages ;
• broad ranging activities,
• easy propagation and wide-ranging strain selection,
• highly versatile
• productive as compared to other sources,
• fermentation is integrally faster and more productive as compared to
any other chemical process,