Recent Findings in Azaphilone Pigments

Abstract

Filamentous fungi are known to biosynthesize an extraordinary range of azaphilones pigments with structural diversity and advantages over vegetal-derived colored natural products such agile and simple cultivation in the lab, acceptance of low-cost substrates, speed yield improvement, and ease of downstream processing. Modern genetic engineering allows industrial production, providing pigments with higher thermostability, water-solubility, and promising bioactivities combined with ecological functions. This review, covering the literature from 2020 onwards, focuses on the state-of-the-art of azaphilone dyes, the global market scenario, new compounds isolated in the period with respective biological activities, and biosynthetic pathways. Furthermore, we discussed the innovations of azaphilone cultivation and extraction techniques, as well as in yield improvement and scale-up. Potential applications in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and textile industries were also explored.

Chemical Profiling, Bioactivity Evaluation and the Discovery of a Novel Biopigment Produced by Penicillium purpurogenum CBS 113139

“…The pigments produced in Pigment Complex A were first analyzed by UV/Vis diode array chromatography. Using the same chromatographic conditions, we proceeded to the determination of these compounds using HR-MS. For the identification of the compounds, we searched the current literature for the known metabolites of Penicillium purpurogenum [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], collected all the reported compounds and created an in-house library containing their chemical structures. We used this library in conjunction with Bruker’s MetaboBASE Plant Library to annotate the compounds being reported in Table S3 .…”

Tartrazine: Potential hepatorenal and cardiovascular toxicity and the possible protective effect of vitamin E in Wistar rats

“…Tartrazine reduction produces sulfanilic acid and aminopyrazolone, both of which can cause tissue injury via reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation [11] . Tartrazine is reported to be one of the most arguable coloring agents [12] . It was reported that it can exacerbate liver toxicity as it contains the hepatotoxic butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), causing hepatic centrilobular necrosis, hemorrhagic death, and elevated serum transaminase activities after 24 hours of administration [13] .…”

A new endophyte Monascus ruber SRZ112 as an efficient production platform of natural pigments using agro-industrial wastes

“…By 2024, it was expected that the world color market used in food industry will reach approximately 5.7 billion US dollar 6 . Unfortunately, the basic science and industry still have not overcome the high cost and low availability of natural pigments 7 . Therefore, the demand for the naturally produced biopigments will continue to rise.…”