OTIMIZAÇÃO DA PRODUÇÃO DE PIGMENTO VERMELHO POR UM FUNGO ISOLADO NO PANTANAL SUL-MATO- GROSSENSE

Abstract

Pigments produced by fungi are a promising alternative to replace synthetic pigments. However, for their industrial production to be economically viable, yield optimization is necessary. Therefore, the objective of this study was to optimize the production of the extracellular pigment produced by a fungal strain isolated from soil samples from the western region of the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Twelve filamentous fungi were isolated, one of which produced a red extracellular pigment and was initially designated ISO 15. The isolate formed a green colony with a white border, suede-like texture, dry appearance, and a wrinkled reverse side. When evaluating the pigment yield estimate, the microorganism produced pigment only under static conditions, with peak production at 495 nm and an absorbance of 1.1.

The highest yield of crude red pigment was obtained in Glucose and Yeast Extract (GY) broth at pH 5.5, 30°C, without agitation, over seven days of cultivation, reaching a maximum absorbance (λmax) of 4.335 at 495 nm. The pigment exhibited high stability, maintaining 93.56% residual activity after three hours at 50°C.

Our results demonstrate that optimizing cultivation parameters can enhance the production of the target pigment by the selected fungus.