Production and characterization of crude and encapsulated prodigiosin pigment

Abstract

Pigments from microorganisms can serve as an alternative source to replace synthetic pigments used in various industries. Natural pigments have some limitations including solubility, sensitivity and short stability upon exposure to light, pH and high temperature. Thus, employing methods such as encapsulating can be a good alternative to enhance the pigment’s properties. The present work is a comparison of encapsulated and nonencapsulated (crude) prodigiosin extracted from Serratia marcescens in terms of stability and solubility. The results show that the pigment is more stable and soluble in water in encapsulated form when stored in the absence of light and thus has superior stability compared to pigment in its crude form. The results suggest that the encapsulated prodigiosin can be a more stable pigment under the above optimum conditions.