Abstract

Several consumer products look enticing due to colors and there has been a demand for colours for various applications ever since human civilization started. Although in the primitive days, humans had used natural colours, the wake of the industrial revolution saw the excessive use of diverse types of synthetic colours. Although it looked very fancy initially, slowly scientists discovered the dangers of large-scale use of these colourants. The current demand is for natural colours, and hence, there is a scope for sources of natural colours from bio sources. The present study involved the isolation of an endophytic fungus, Fusarium solani producing a red pigment from the polluted waters of Madiwala lake in Bangalore. The fungal extract showed good antimicrobial and moderate antioxidant properties. Cytotoxicity assays using brine shrimps proved negligible toxicity which is a positive trait for natural colorants for safer applications in industries. Media optimization and solid-state fermentation were carried out to improve the yield of the fungal pigment and also to formulate a cheaper media for fungal multiplication and pigment production. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles was also carried out with the fungal extract and the nanoparticles were characterized. Thus, the present study provides an option for the extraction of environment-friendly natural colorant from the fungus F. solani for potential industrial applications.

Key words: Keywords: synthetic colors, natural colors, endophytic fungus, Fusarium solani, pigment, antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, green synthesis, silver nanoparticles