Abstract
The public’s demand for natural, eco-friendly, and safe pigments is significantly increasing in the current era. Natural pigments, especially fungal pigments, are receiving more attention and seem to be in high demand worldwide. The immense advantages of fungal pigments over other natural or synthetic pigments have opened new avenues in the market for a wide range of applications in different industries. In addition to coloring properties, other beneficial attributes of fungal pigments, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activity, have expanded their use in different sectors. This review deals with the study of fungal pigments and their applications and sheds light on future prospects and challenges in the field of fungal pigments. Furthermore, the possible application of fungal pigments in the textile industry is also addressed.
Highlights
Color has always played an important role in the life of all organisms on Earth
Fungi belonging to the Monascaceae, Trichocomaceae, Nectriaceae, Hypocreaceae, Pleosporaceae, Cordycipitaceae, Xylariaceae, Chaetomiaceae, Sordariaceae, Chlorociboriaceae, Hyaloscyphaceae, Hymenochaetaceae, Polyporaceae, Ophiostomataceae, Tremellaceae, Herpotrichiellaceae, and Tuberaceae families have been described as potent pigment producers [8,12,20,25,26,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45] (Table 1)
Many fungal pigments have been reported to have a variety of biological applications because of their different properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, and cytotoxic activities in addition to coloring property [1,20,25,179]; the degree of purity of pigments investigated in the various studies is not always known
Summary
Color has always played an important role in the life of all organisms on Earth. Human life has become truly “colorful” due to the use of colors in all its aspects, including clothes, food, and furniture. Especially synthetic ones, have occupied the entire market due to their wide range of applications in different industries since their discovery in the 19th century. The global response, as well as the demand for eco-friendly natural pigments, has significantly increased in recent decades due to their advantages over hazardous synthetic pigments. They are used as colorants, color intensifiers, additives, antioxidants, etc., in many industries including the textile, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, painting, food, and beverage industries [1,8]. The present review highlights the role of fungi as small factories in pigment production and their potential application in different industries, including the textile industry
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