Perstraction of Intracellular Pigments through Submerged Fermentation of Talaromyces spp. in a Surfactant Rich Media: A Novel Approach for Enhanced Pigment Recovery.

A high percentage of the pigments produced by Talaromyces spp. remains inside the cell, which could lead to a high product concentration inhibition. To overcome this issue an extractive fermentation process, perstraction, was suggested, which involves the extraction of the intracellular products out of the cell by using a two-phase system during the fermentation. The present work studied the effect of various surfactants on secretion of intracellular pigments produced by Talaromyces spp. in submerged fermentation. Surfactants used were: non-ionic surfactants (Tween 80, Span 20 and Triton X-100) and a polyethylene glycerol polymer 8000, at different concentrations (5, 20, 35 g/L). The highest extracellular pigment yield (16 OD500nm) was reached using Triton X-100 (35 g/L), which was 44% higher than the control (no surfactant added). The effect of addition time of the selected surfactant was further studied. The highest extracellular pigment concentration (22 OD500nm) was achieved when the surfactant was added at 120 h of fermentation. Kinetics of extracellular and intracellular pigments were examined. Total pigment at the end of the fermentation using Triton X-100 was 27.7% higher than the control, confirming that the use of surfactants partially alleviated the product inhibition during the pigment production culture.

Assessment of the Dyeing Properties of the Pigments Produced by Talaromyces spp.

The high production yields of pigments by Talaromyces spp. and their high thermal stability have implied that industrial application interests may emerge in the food and textile industries, as they both involve subjecting the colourants to high temperatures. The present study aimed to assess the potential application of the pigments produced by Talaromyces spp. in the textile area by studying their dyeing properties. Dyeing studies were performed on wool. The dyeing process consisted of three stages: scouring, mordanting, and dyeing. Two different mordants (alum, A; ferric chloride, F) were tested at different concentrations on fabric weight (A: 5, 10, 15%; F: 10, 20, 30%). The mordanting process had a significant effect on the final colour of the dyed fabrics obtained. The values of dyeing rate constant (k), half-time of dyeing (t1/2), and sorption kinetics behaviour were evaluated and discussed. The obtained results showed that pigments produced by Talaromyces spp. could serve as a source for the natural dyeing of wool textiles.

Biotechnological production of carotenoids by yeasts: an overview.

Nowadays, carotenoids are valuable molecules in different industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical, poultry, food and cosmetics. These pigments not only can act as vitamin A precursors, but also they have coloring and antioxidant properties, which have attracted the attention of the industries and researchers. The carotenoid production through chemical synthesis or extraction from plants is limited by low yields that results in high production costs. This leads to research of microbial production of carotenoids, as an alternative that has shown better yields than other aforementioned. In addition, the microbial production of carotenoids could be a better option about costs, looking for alternatives like the use of low-cost substrates as agro-industrials wastes. Yeasts have demonstrated to be carotenoid producer showing an important growing capacity in several agro-industrial wastes producing high levels of carotenoids. Agro-industrial wastes provide carbon and nitrogen source necessary, and others elements to carry out the microbial metabolism diminishing the production costs and avoiding pollution from these agro-industrial wastes to the environmental. Herein, we discuss the general and applied concepts regarding yeasts carotenoid production and the factors influencing carotenogenesis using agro-industrial wastes as low-cost substrates.

Red pigment production by Penicillium purpurogenum GH2 is influenced by pH and temperature.

The combined effects of pH and temperature on red pigment production and fungal morphology were evaluated in a submerged culture of Penicillium purpurogenum GH2, using Czapek-Dox media with d-xylose as a carbon source. An experimental design with a factorial fix was used: three pH values (5, 7, and 9) and two temperature levels (24 and 34 °C) were evaluated. The highest production of red pigment (2.46 g/L) was reached with a pH value of 5 and a temperature of 24 °C. Biomass and red pigment production were not directly associated. This study demonstrates that P. purpurogenum GH2 produces a pigment of potential interest to the food industry. It also shows the feasibility of producing and obtaining natural water-soluble pigments for potential use in food industries. A strong combined effect (p<0.05) of pH and temperature was associated with maximal red pigment production (2.46 g/L).