World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF MARKET DEMAND, ADVANCEMENTS AND APPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL PIGMENTS

Shweta Patil*

ABSTRACT

Natural pigments from bacterial, fungal, algal, and plant sources have gained significant attention due to their wide
range of applications in food, pharmaceutical, textile and aquaculture industries. These pigments not only provide
appealing colours but also offer additional beneficial properties that can be exploited to our advantage. These
bioactive properties include antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiviral and antitumor effects. This review highlights the
growing interest in microbial pigments apparent with its growing market demand. The pigments of high value
presently include β- carotene, prodigiosin, violacein and fungal melanin. Some pigments have demonstrated more
promising health effects and hence have opened new avenues for therapeutic applications. Besides, common
applications such as textile and food colouring, the applications have been extended to improving the pigmentation
and market value of ornamental fish and crustaceans using pigments such as astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, and bixin.
Additionally, fungal spalting is another interesting application of biopigments that has emerged for decorating
wood products, and further adding commercial and artistic value. Recent biotechnological studies are focused on
optimizing pigment production and scaling up industrial applications, and thereby develop sustainable options to
replace synthetic colorants. Overall, this review presents interdisciplinary research on natural microbial pigments
and their advantages and multifunctional potential across different sectors.

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