Extraction and optimisation of red pigment production as secondary metabolites from Talaromyces verruculosus and its potential use in textile industries

Abstract

Textile dyes and effluents are considered as one of the worst polluters of our priceless water sources and soils. New sources of natural pigments are getting particular research interests due to the toxicity produced by synthetic colouring agents. Plant sources are being explored extensively for natural pigments but inadequate yield of those sources hampered the progression. Apart from the enormous antibacterial applications, fungi may provide a readily available alternative source of natural pigments. Here, we isolated a fungal strain from spoiled mango which is capable of producing pigments suitable for textile dyeing. The spoiled mangoes were selected as a source of different fungi. Among them one particular fungal isolate was selected for its visible production of secondary metabolites. Molecular identification using internal transcribed spacer sequencing revealed the fungi as Talaromyces verruculosus strain. The growth and pigment production of the fungi was optimised to obtain highest yield. Extracted pigment was applied to cotton fabric following a standard dyeing procedure for natural pigment. Adequate colour yield and negative cytotoxicity result suggested that the fungi source of pigment could be a potential replacement for hazardous synthetic dyes.