Phycobiliproteins: Algal and Cyanobacterial Pigments Radiating Vivid Colors
Abstract
Phycobiliproteins are brilliantly colored, fluorescent proteins with colors like fuchsia, purple-blue & cyan. They are water soluble proteins found in cyanobacteria, red algae, the cryptomonads. These chromoproteins extract solar energy in the visible spectrum region, i.e. 450-650 nm, which has low chlorophyll absorption, and then transfer this energy to chlorophyll in the photosynthetic membrane. These proteins are made up of phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin which help in the harvesting of solar energy. The presence of PBP helps to complete the process needed for survival in their habitat under tough conditions where organisms are not able to typically carry out photosynthesis. In the alkaline pH range, proteins have excellent solubility and stability. Apart from this, they are also used as natural colorants, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, fluorescent dyes, etc. Their use for health promotion is widespread in dietary supplements and pharmaceutical products, as they are antioxidant, anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial. They are also used as probes for single-particle fluorescence imaging in clinical and immunological analysis. Hence this chapter reviews this magnificent protein's source, production and explores its full potential as a commercially relevant pigment.
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One of the most important products from microalgae is pigments, which are widely used in the cosmetics and food industries.
“One of the most important products from microalgae is pigments, which are widely used in the cosmetics and food industries.”
From Multi-Sensing Monitoring of the Microalgae Biomass Cultivation Systems for Biofuels and Added Value Products Synthesis—Challenges and Opportunities (2025) · cites this paper as [79]
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- Authors
- Nair, A., Rao, A. S., Ayesha, B., Salu, H. A., Ashraf, Q., Hebbar, A. S., Yuktha, K., Khadyal, P., Poulamee, S., Veena, S. M., & More, S. S.
- Affiliations
- Dayananda Sagar University (IN)
- Venue
- Microbial Colorants
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2025-04-03
- Pages
- 241-259
- OpenAlex
- W4409158141
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2
- Type
- other
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Microbial Metabolism and Applications
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Photoreceptor and optogenetics research
- Keywords
- phycobiliproteins, phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, cyanobacteria, red algae, cryptophytes, chromoproteins, light harvesting, natural colorants, nutraceuticals, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, anticancer activity, antibacterial activity
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