Production and New Extraction Method of Polyketide Red Pigments Produced by Ascomycetous Fungi from Terrestrial and Marine Habitats

Abstract

The use of ascomycetous fungi as pigment producers opens the way to an alternative to synthetic dyes, especially in the red-dye industries, which have very few natural pigment alternatives. The present paper aimed to bio-prospect and screen out 15 selected ascomycetous fungal strains, originating from terrestrial and marine habitats belonging to seven different genera (Penicillium, Talaromyces, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Dreschlera, and Paecilomyces). We identified four strains, Penicillium purpurogenum rubisclerotium, Fusarium oxysporum, marine strains identified as Talaromyces spp., and Trichoderma atroviride, as potential red pigment producers. The extraction of the pigments is a crucial step, whereby the qualitative and quantitative compositions of each fungal extract need to be respected for reliable identification, as well as preserving bioactivity. Furthermore, there is a growing demand for more sustainable and cost-effective extraction methods. Therefore, a pressurized liquid extraction technique was carried out in this study, allowing a greener and faster extraction step of the pigments, while preserving their chemical structures and bioactivities in comparison to conventional extraction processes. The protocol was illustrated with the production of pigment extracts from P. purpurogenum rubisclerotium and Talaromyces spp. Extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid-chromatography combined with photodiode array-detection (HPLC-DAD) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). The more promising strain was the isolate Talaromyces spp. of marine origin. The main polyketide pigment produced by this strain has been characterized as N-threoninerubropunctamine, a non-toxic red Monascus-like azaphilone pigment.

Isolation of two novel purple naphthoquinone pigments concomitant with the bioactive red bikaverin and derivates thereof produced by Fusarium oxysporum

“…After 7 days of fermentation, the culture broth and fungal biomass were separated by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm for 10 min (Centrifuge Sigma 3 K 3OH and 19,776‐H rotor) and vacuum filtration using Whatman filter paper GF/C disc (Merck). The colorimetric characterization of the 7‐day‐old culture filtrate was assessed in the CIE L*a*b* system (L*a*b* colorimetric system of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage) using a spectrocolorimeter CM 3500 with the SpectraMagic™ software v1.9 (Konica Minolta) according to the colorimetric method described by Lebeau et al To characterize a color in the CIE L*a*b* color system, three colorimetric coordinates are obtained from the spectrocolorimeter. L* defines the lightness (ranges from 0% to 100%, dark to light), a* value indicates the red/green value (from −60 to +60, green to red), and b* value denotes the blue/yellow value (from −60 to +60, blue to yellow).…”

“…The bioproduction of colored and bioactive secondary metabolites from ascomycetous fungi has promising potential in various industrial fields from food coloring agents to drugs or even semiconductors and functional materials production, as the literature has been abundantly reporting . On top of their structural diversity, fungal pigments from the polyketide family (i.e., azaphilones, hydroxyanthraquinones, and naphthoquinones) demonstrated a wide range of potential applications as coloring agents in cosmetics, textile, leather, paper, animal feeds, food, and beverages industries.…”

“…The production of these polyketidic pigments, their distribution (either produced in mycelia or excreted in liquid medium) and their chemical profiles were investigated with respect to nutrient composition and illumination condition in shake flask cultures. Furthermore, the fungal pigment extraction from lyophilized mycelia and lyophilized culture supernatant was realized using a six‐stage pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) method recently described . This method allowed applying to either lyophilisized biomass or fermentation broth, various solvent polarity profile, therefore maximizing the extraction efficiency of different pigments from the same matrix.…”

Optimisation and characterisation of the orange pigment produced by a cold adapted strain of Penicillium sp. (GBPI_P155) isolated from mountain ecosystem

“…Lebeau et al (2017) also reported the highest production of a red pigment by the strain of Penicillium purpurogenum rubisclerotium grown in PD broth medium, incubated at 26°C, whereas biomass concentration was found to be low in this medium. Similar results were obtained in the present study where maximum pigmentation was recorded after 15 days of incubation.…”

A New Method to Purify Hydroxyl Monascus Red Pigment by Retrogradation of Both Pigments and Maize Amylopectin

“…as materials, and the natural MRP products in industrial scale were only the aqueous or ethanol extracts of fermented products, so their components were extremely complex and difficult to be identified. In order to characterize chemical structure of new MRP, many methods had been applied such as TLC, reversed‐phase HPLC, ionic liquid‐nonionic surfactant aqueous two‐phase system, reverse micellar extraction and macroporous resins (MACR) adsorption, UHPLC‐DAD‐QToF‐MS, Integrated Fermentation System, Transcriptomic Analysis, etc . Those methods were time‐consuming, costly, and needed expensive equipment, therefore, some simple methods should be explored to know the general information of red pigments and citrinin in those products.…”