Bioprocessing of Biocolors for Large-Scale Production
摘要
The environmental and health concerns caused by synthetic dyes have driven the demand for natural alternatives, and biocolors have emerged as a green and sustainable choice. In recent years, demand for biocolors has increased globally in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to their multifunctional bioactivities and natural origin. Biocolors are natural coloring agents derived from biological sources, viz., plants, animals, and microbes. Traditional production methods that have been used for many years for biocolor production are source-specific, dependent upon climatic conditions, and subject to small contents of target pigment compounds. Many efforts, viz., optimization of microbial-based bioprocesses and development of in vitro plant tissue culture systems, have been done to increase biocolor production on an industrial scale, but still methodologies and techniques for production, extraction, and purification of biocolors are not up to the mark, which constrains the overall productivity as well as the quality of the final product. The present chapter addresses bioprocessing techniques and technologies to upscale the large-scale production of biocolors.