Phycoerythrin: a pink pigment from red sources (rhodophyta) for a greener biorefining approach to food applications

Abstract

Phycoerythrin (PE) is a photosensitive red pigment from phycobiliprotein family predominantly present in the red algae. The concentration of PE depends on photon flux density (PFD) and the quality of light absorbed by the algae tissue. This necessitates robust techniques to extract PE from the embedded cell-wall matrix of the algal frond. Similarly, PE is sensitive to various factors which influence its stability and purity of PE. The PE is extracted from Red algae through different extraction techniques. This review explores an integrative approach of fractionating PE for the scaling-up process and commercialization. The mechanism for stabilizing PE pigment in food was critically evaluated for further retaining this pigment within the food system. The challenges and possibilities of employing efficient extraction for industrial adoption are meticulously estimated. The techniques involved in the sustainable way of extracting PE pigments improved at a laboratory scale in the past decade. Although, the complexity of industrial-scale biorefining was found to be a bottleneck. The extraction of PE using benign chemicals would be safe for food applications to promote health benefits. The precise selection of encapsulation technique with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity of the membrane would bring better stability of PE in the food matrix.

Graphical Abtsract

Keywords:

• Phycoerythrin
• phycobiliprotein
• pigment
• microalgae
• macroalgae
• green-extraction

Acknowledgements

Authors sincerely thank Department of Zoology, Sri Vasavi College, Erode-Tamilnadu, India for supporting and providing essential facilities needed for this study. Author also wish to acknowledge the financial support received through the INTERREG Atlantic Area Project EAPA_338/2016 EnhanceMicroAlgae (High added-value industrial opportunities for microalgae in the Atlantic Area).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This review paper did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Data availability statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.