Orange-Brown Pigment Production from an Endophytic Fungus Aspergillus Sp. N11 and its Potential Pharmaceutical Applications

Endophytic fungi are the main source of natural compounds including pigments having various industrial applications. Present study describes the production of extracellular orange-brown pigment from an endophytic fungal isolate Aspergillus sp. N11from Teucrium stocksianum. The optimum conditions for pigment production from this isolate was investigated and results showed that highest yield was observed in Potato dextrose broth, at pH 5 and 30 ℃ under shaking condition at 150 rpm for 7-10 days. The pigment was extracted in ethyl acetate and purified using column chromatography. Three different pigments were purified (yellow, light brown and orange-brown) and characterized based on Thin layer chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activity of purified fragments showed maximum zone of inhibition of 40 mm against S. aureus while for P. aeruginosa maximum zone of 50 mm and maximum antifungal activity of 20 mm against C. albicans. The antioxidant potential of purified pigment obtained from Aspergillus sp. N11 indicates that maximum scavenging activity of 67%. The results showed that purified pigments are astaxanthins belonging to oxygen containing carotenoids. The purified astaxanthins showed antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities indicating its potential to be utilized in pharmaceutical and food industries.

Sustainable Supply of Scandium for the EU Industries from Liquid Iron Chloride Based TiO2 Plants

Scandium (Sc) applications in solid oxygen fuel cells, aeronautics and heat exchange systems are forecasted to increase significantly without a sufficient continuous Sc supply for Europe. ScaVanger is an EU project for upscaling Sc extraction and purification technologies from various TiO2 pigment production residues. High purity Sc2O3 and ScF3 will be produced at competitive prices for the EU market. The ScaVanger process is expected to result in a 10% higher production rate and higher product purity as processing starts with a unique cleaning process of actinides. The first plant at a major European TiO2 pigment production site will be supplying about 30 t/a of Sc2O3.

Optimization of pigment production by Rhodotorula minuta URM 5197 and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa URM 7409 using yellow passion fruit peel (Passiflora edulis)

The objective of this work was to optimize the production of pigments by Rhodotorula minuta and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa through submerged fermentation, using yellow passion fruit peel (Passiflora edulis), as the only substrate. The independent variables evaluated to optimize were: yellow passion fruit peel (YPFP), in grams (g) as culture medium, pH and fermentation time, in days. The study of pigment production and its optimization was carried out using the Doehlert matrix, with fifteen experimental conditions, of which thirteen had different combinations and two repeated the central point. The fixed variables were 30ºC and 150 rpm. Data analysis was performed using the Statistica software version 10.0. The largest amount of total pigments and total carotenoids produced by R. minuta was 28±0.01 mg/L and 72.8±0.026 µg/g, respectively; while for R. mucilaginosa the production of total pigments was 37±0.002 mg/L and total carotenoids 236.8±0.013 µg/g. The optimum production point of total pigments for R. minuta was 2.3g of YPFP, pH 6.5 and 5 days and for R. mucilaginosa 2.5g of YPFP pH 6 and 5 days. In samples of total pigments, the presence of 0.29mg/L of β-carotene for R. minuta and 0.83 mg/L for R. mucilaginosa was identified. It is possible to conclude that yellow passion fruit peel can be used as a nutrient source for Rhodotorula spp growth and pigment production with total carotenoids and β-carotene in its composition.

Production of Pigments by Filamentous Fungi Cultured on Agro-Industrial by-Products Using Submerged and Solid-State Fermentation Methods

The food and pharmaceutical industries are searching for natural colour alternatives as required by consumers. Over the last decades, fungi have emerged as producers of natural pigments. In this paper, five filamentous fungi; Penicillium multicolour, P. canescens, P. herquie, Talaromyces verruculosus and Fusarium solani isolated from soil and producing orange, green, yellow, red and brown pigments, respectively, when cultured on a mixture of green waste and whey were tested. The culture media with varying pH (4.0, 7.0 and 9.0) were incubated at 25 °C for 14 days under submerged and solid-state fermentation conditions. Optimal conditions for pigment production were recorded at pH 7.0 and 9.0 while lower biomass and pigment intensities were observed at pH 4.0. The mycelial biomass and pigment intensities were significantly higher for solid-state fermentation (0.06–2.50 g/L and 3.78–4.00 AU) compared to submerged fermentation (0.220–0.470 g/L and 0.295–3.466 AU). The pigment intensities were corroborated by lower L* values with increasing pH. The λmax values for the pigments were all in the UV region. Finally, this study demonstrated the feasibility of pigment production using green waste:whey cocktails (3:2). For higher biomass and intense pigment production, solid-state fermentation may be a possible strategy for scaling up in manufacturing industries.

Vertical Distribution of Phytoplankton Community and Pigment Production in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea during the Late Summer Season

Phytoplankton community structure, which plays an important role in determining productivity and food web structure, can provide important information for understanding variations in marine ecosystems under projected climate change scenarios. Rising temperatures due to climate change will increase and intensify water stratification. To understand the community composition and distribution characteristics of phytoplankton under stratified conditions, phytoplankton pigments were analyzed in the Yellow Sea (YS) and East China Sea (ECS) during the late summer season. In addition, pigment production was measured to estimate the physiological characteristics of phytoplankton relating to light, which is an essential element of photosynthesis. During our observation period, no distinct differences were found in the community composition and pigment production of phytoplankton in the YS and the ECS, but differences in the vertical distribution were observed. Overall, the dominant phytoplankton classes at the surface depth were pico-sized cyanobacteria (46.1%), whereas micro- and nano-sized diatoms (42.9%) were the abundant most classes at a 1% light depth. The major factors controlling the vertical distributions of the phytoplankton community were temperature and nutrients (i.e., nitrate and ammonium). Cyanobacteria were positively correlated with water temperature and ammonium, whereas diatoms were negatively related to water temperature and positively correlated with nitrates. Based on the pigment production, it was found that cyanobacteria at the surface layer encountered excessive irradiance conditions during the study period. The productivity of the cyanobacterial community could be decreased under high-light and high-temperature conditions. This means that cyanobacteria could have a negative influence on the quantity and quality of food available to upper trophic organisms under warmer conditions.

The analysis of the suitability of using waste from the production of planting material for apple trees to obtain natural anthocyanin dyes

The analysis of the content of pigments in the stems of clonal apple rootstocks bred by Michurinsky State Agrarian University showed a high content of anthocyanins (more than 200 mg/100 g for rootstock 54-118). When determining the qualitative composition, it was revealed that anthocyanins in the stems of the rootstocks are represented by three groups, while there are differences in the shape of the rootstocks. As a source of pigment production, it is necessary to select rootstocks with a high endogenous synthesis of anthocyanins (i.e. red-leaved forms 54-118, 57-491, 98-7-77, etc.), during the cultivation of which, in addition to the main product—detachable rooted cuttings-one can additionally receive from 3 to 10 kg of anthocyanin dyes from 1 hectare of mother plant.