Asian Journal of Dairy and Food Research, volume 34 issue 2 (june 2015) : 130-135

Production and application of natural food colourant from Thermomyces sp

R. Poorniammal, S. Gunasekaran, A.R. Sakthi
1Krishi Vigyan Kendra, TNAU, Kovilangulam, Aruppukottai -626 107, India.
Cite article:- Poorniammal R., Gunasekaran S., Sakthi A.R. (2024). Production and application of natural food colourant from Thermomyces sp. Asian Journal of Dairy and Food Research. 34(2): 130-135. doi: 10.5958/0976-0563.2015.00026.3.
This paper presents a small scale batch technology for production of natural extract which can be utilized as food colourant. This technology was designed based on the laboratory tests performed on Thermomyces sp; it allows very simple way for production of valuable product for food industry which acts as an antioxidant, antimicrobial and food dye. The pigment was identified using combination of UV-visible spectral data, HPLC and FT-IR as a quinone pigment with ë max at 424nm. After extraction and purification the colourant was suspended in water for evaluation. The stability of the pigment was tested in both solutions and when incorporated in food products. Thermomyces sp pigments was applied to a few food products like cookies, rice wine, orange squash and guava jelly. Sensory tests inferred that orange squash, cookies and rice wine had recorded high acceptability followed by guava jelly.
  1. Anonymous, (1999). Doosan Training and Technology Centre. http://www.dst.doosan. com.
  2. Barbu, V., Bahrim, G., Soptica, F. and Socaciu, C. (2006). Modification of pigment composition in Epicoccum nigrum by chemical mutagenesis. Sci Study Res., 7:589-96.
  3. Blanc, P.J.,. Laussac, J.P., Lebars, J., Lebars, P., Loret, M.O., Pareilleux, A.., Prome, D.,
  4. Prome, J.C., Santerre AL. and Goma, G. (1995). Characterization of monascidin-A from Monascus as citrinin. Int. J. Food Microbiol., 27: 201–213.
  5. Cho, Y.J., Park, J.P., Hwang, H.J., Kim, S.W., Choi J.W., and Yun. J.W. (2002) . Production of red pigment by submerged culture of Paecilomyces sinclairii. Lett. Appl. Microbiol., 35(3): 195-202.
  6. Dufossé, L., Fouillaud, M., Caro, Y., Sameer AS Mapari, Sutthiwong,N. (2014) , Filamentous fungi are large-scale producers of pigments and colourants for the food industry, Current Opinion in Biotechnolo, 26: 56–61.
  7. Fischer, G., Braun, S., Thissen, R and Dott. W. (2006). FT-IR spectroscopy as a tool for rapid identification and intra-species characterization of airborne filamentous fungi. J. Microbiol. Methods., 64: 63– 77.
  8. Kim, S.W., Hwang, H.J., Xu C.P., Sung, J.M., Choi J.W., and Yun J.W. (2003). Optimization of submerged culture process for production of mycelial biomass and exopolysaccharides by Cordyceps militaris C738. J. Appl. Miocrobiol., 94: 120-126.
  9. Mantzouridou, F and Tsimidou, M. Z. (2007). On the monitoring of carotenogenesis by Blakeslea trispora using HPLC. Food Chem., 104: 439-444
  10. Mapari, S.A.S., Meyer, A.S. and Thrane, U. (2006). Colorimetric characterization for comparative analysis of fungal pigments and natural food colourants. J. Agric. Food Chem., 54: 7028-7035.
  11. Mapari, S.A.S., Meyer, A.S. and Thrane, U. (2008). Evaluation of Epicoccum nigrum for growth morphology and production of natural colourants in liquid media and on a solid rice medium. Biotechnol Lett., 30: 2183-2190
  12. Mapari, S.A.S., Meyer, A.S., Thrane, U. and Frisvad, J.C. (2009). Identification of potentially safe promising fungal cell factories for the production of polyketide natural food colourants using chemotaxonomic rationale. Microb. Cell Fact., 8 (24) : 1-15.
  13. Mapari, S.A.S., Nielsen, K.L., Larsen, T.O., Frisvad, J.C. Meyer, A.S and Thrane, U. (2005). Exploring fungal biodiversity for the production of water-soluble pigments as potential natural food colourants. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 16: 231–238.
  14. Poorniammal, R.,Gunasekaran, S and Ariharasivakumar, H. (2011). Toxicity evaluation of fungal food colourant from Thermomyces sp in albino mice. Journal of Sci Ind Rese., 70:773-777.
  15. Poorniammal, R., Gunasekaran, S. and Murugesan, R. (2014). In Vivo Antioxidant Activities of Thermomyces sp Pigment in Albino Mice. Int J of Agriculture, Environment & Biotechnol. 7: 355-360.
  16. Somasundaram, T., Sanjay, S., Rao, R. and Maheswari, R. (1986). Pigments in Thermophilic fungi. Current science, 55: 957-960.
  17. Su, N.W., Lin, Y.L., Lee, M.H and Ho, C.Y. (2005). Ankaflavin from Monascus-fermented red rice exhibits selective cytotoxic effect and induces cell death on Hep G2 cells. J. Agric. Food Chem., 53: 1949–1954.
  18. Thomson, R. H. (1992).The total synthesis of naturally occurring quinones. In: Total Synthesis of Natural Products; ApSimon, J., Ed.; John Wiley: New York. pp: 311-531.
  19. Vidyalakshmi, R., Paranthaman, R., Murugesh, S. and Singaravadivel, K. (2009). Stimulation of Monascus pigments by intervention of different nitrogen sources. Global J of Biotechnol and Biochem, 4: 25-28.

Editorial Board

View all (0)