Abstract

Microbial pigments are an important alternative to potentially harmful synthetic dyes. An extracellular red pigment producing fungus, Penicillium purpurogenum was isolated from soil and its optimal submerged fermentation parameters were evaluated. The optimal process conditions for maximum red pigment production were as follows: Starch (33.41 CVU mL -1 ), peptone (34.5 CVU mL -1 ) ammonium nitrate (32.8 CVU mL -1 ) and incubated under darkness (34.5 CVU mL -1 ). Addition of the ferrous sulphate gave significant yield (29.4 CVU mL -1 ) on red pigment production. These results suggest the red pigment from P. purpurogenum with potential application in food colouring and textile industries.

Keywords: Submerged fermentation, Food colourants, Penicillium purpurogenum, Red pigment