TITLE:
Biotechnological Potential of Carotenoids Produced by Extremophilic Microorganisms and Application Prospects for the Cosmetics Industry
AUTHORS:
Tayane de Cássia Dias Mendes-Silva, Rosileide Fontenele da Silva Andrade, Marcio Akio Ootani, Paulo Vitor Dias Mendes, Rafael Artur de Queiroz Cavalcanti de Sá, Milena Roberta Freire da Silva, Karolayne Silva Souza, Maria Tereza dos Santos Correia, Márcia Vanusa da Silva, Maria Betânia Melo de Oliveira
KEYWORDS:
Natural Pigment, Microbial Production, Hostile Environments, Antioxidant, Photoprotection
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.10 No.8,
August
28,
2020
ABSTRACT: Carotenoids are isoprenoid pigments
used in food, chemical, textile, pharmaceutical,
and cosmetic industries. They act not only as dyes and provitamins A but also have antioxidants, photoprotective, antimicrobial
properties, among others. This class of pigment can be obtained traditionally
by plants or chemical synthesis, but they have some disadvantages. In recent
years, search for alternative sources has been an important strategy for the
carotenoid industries. Microbial synthesis is an alternative that has shown
good yields, speed, and reduced production
costs. Hostile environments, such as the Caatinga domain, represent an interesting source of
microorganisms that produce biomolecules, especially carotenoids,
because of oxidative stress caused by sunlight. Thus, this region has been attracting the attention of the
scientific community and industry for the use of these organisms in the
production of carotenoids and applications in cosmetic products; since these
compounds have interesting antioxidant and
photoprotective properties. In this review, general characteristics of
carotenoids, sources of production, industrial applicability, and commercialization
will be discussed, as well as perspectives on the production of carotenoids
from microorganisms isolated from the Caatinga and their application in anti-UV
products.