Natural Colorants from Cyanobacteria and Algae
Résumé
Pigment-producing microorganisms, cyanobacteria, macroalgae, and microalgae are quite common in nature. However, there is a long journey from the Petri dish, the ocean, or the culture pond to the market place. Twenty-five years ago, scientists wondered if such productions would remain a scientific oddity or become an industrial reality. The answer is not straightforward, as processes using fungi, bacteria, cyanobacteria, macroalgae, or microalgae can now indeed provide carotenoids or phycocyanin at an industrial level. Another production factor to consider is peculiar, as Monascus red-colored food is consumed by more than one billion Asian people; however, still banned in many other countries. European and American consumers will follow as soon as “100%-guaranteed toxin-free strains” (molecular engineered strains, citrinin-gene-deleted strains) will be developed and commercialized at a world level. For other pigmented biomolecules, some laboratories and companies invest a lot of money, as any combination of new source and/or new pigment requires a lot of experimental work, process optimization, toxicological studies, and regulatory approval. Time will tell whether investments in pigments such as azaphilones or anthraquinones were justified. Future trends involve combinatorial engineering, gene knockout, and the production of niche pigments not found in plants such as C50 carotenoids or aryl carotenoids.