Pigmentos Naturais Produzidos por Fungos Filamentosos Isolados de Theobroma grandiflorum (Willd. Ex Spreng.) Schum. (cupuaçu)

Abstract

An important source of genetic resources is microbial biodiversity for the advancement of biology and biotechnology. The present study aimed to characterize and identify microorganisms isolated from cupuaçu fruit (Theobroma grandiforum) that showed pigment production; analyze the pigments obtained by the technique of Thin Layer Chromatography in Silica Gel, High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; evaluate the pigment potential for human use by performing cytotoxicity assays; characterize the isolates for their potential to produce mycotoxins, and characterize the pigments obtained in relation to the presence of antioxidant activity. Were obtained 207 filamentous fungi from T. grandiflorum fruit, 85 of these showed potential for pigments production. On morphological and molecular analysis, 17 were taxonomically identified as Penicillium purpurogenum, all producers of an extracellular red pigment. The pigment was produced by the isolates in a short period of incubation in the absence or presence of light, at room temperature and on PDA. The stability assays performed showed that the pigment has high stability in relation to changes in temperature, pH and brightness, even in extreme conditions such as freezing, freeze-drying and heating in a microwave oven. Bioassays have shown that the pigment does not have antibiotic activity for testers micro-organisms (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicas) and also showed no cytotoxicity against Artemia salina. It was observed that butanol fraction of the extract showed antioxidant activity. The spectroscopic and chromatographic analyzes performed indicate that this pigment belongs to anthraquinones family. It is necessary further purification of the pigment, HPLC analyzes and NMR to be redone to obtain the structural determination of the molecule. The results obtained show that the red pigment presents a great potential for use as cosmetic and food coloring. Since it has chemical stability, water solubility, antioxidant activity, production in a short time and has no toxicity. These results provided information to confirm the feasibility of natural sources for producing pigments, effectively contributing to the advancement in the use of appropriate technologies to acquire new sources of natural compounds that occurs without less or any environmental impact.