Redox mediators could be used to improve the efficiency of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by enhancing electron transfer rates and decreasing charge transfer resistance at electrodes. However, many artificial redox mediators are expensive and/or toxic. In this study, laccase enzyme was employed as a biocathode of MFCs in the presence of two natural redox mediators (syringaldehyde (Syr) and acetosyringone (As)), and for comparison, a commonly-used artificial mediator 2,2 -azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) was used to investigate their influence on azo dye decolorization and power production. The redox properties of the mediator-laccase systems were studied by cyclic voltammetry. The presence of ABTS and As increased power density from 54.7 ± 3.5 mW m −2 (control) to 77.2 ± 4.2 mW m −2 and 62.5 ± 3.7 mW m −2 respectively. The power decreased to 23.2 ± 2.1 mW m −2 for laccase with Syr. The cathodic decolorization of Acid orange 7 (AO7) by laccase indicated a 12-16% increase in decolorization efficiency with addition of mediators; and the Laccase-Acetosyringone system was the fastest, with 94% of original dye (100 mgL −1 ) decolorized within 24 h. Electrochemical analysis to determine the redox properties of the mediators revealed that syringaldehyde did not produce any redox peaks, inferring that it was oxidized by laccase to other products, making it unavailable as a mediator, while acetosyringone and ABTS revealed two redox couples demonstrating the redox mediator properties of these compounds. Thus, acetosyringone served as an efficient natural redox mediator for laccase, aiding in increasing the rate of dye decolorization and power production in MFCs. Taken together, the results suggest that natural laccase redox mediators could have the potential to improve dye decolorization and power density in microbial fuel cells. Energies 2018, 11, 3455 2 of 12The enzyme is widely utilised in the oxidation of phenolic and non-phenolic substrates such as dyes, pesticides, antibiotics etc.The redox potential of the substrate should be lower than that of laccase for oxidation to be thermodynamically feasible. The redox potential range for fungal laccase is between 0.4-0.8 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), which is suitable for oxidation of phenolic substrates; for non-phenolic substrates that have a redox potential of >1.3 V vs. SHE, and cannot be oxidized directly by laccase, a redox mediator is required [5]. A redox mediator is a small molecular weight compound that is oxidized by the enzyme and reduced by the substrate continuously. They act as electron shuttles for large substrates that cannot access the active site of the enzyme, e.g., due to steric hindrance [6]. In laccase mediator systems (LMS), the enzyme oxidizes the mediators to form stable radicals with high redox potential that diffuse away from the enzyme active site and oxidize the substrates and get reduced in the process. In this way, laccase indirectly oxidises substrates that have high redox potentials or large molecular sizes [7] (...