Characterization of Yellow Pigments Produced by Pencillium sp. under Solid State Cultivation

Solid state fermentation was carried out for the production of pigments by using agricultural wastes. Yellow pigments were produced; the absorbance maxima of Pigment extract was measured by spectral analysis. Out of these agricultural wastes broken wheat (0.996 OD) was best for the pigment production. The maximum pigment yield (137.8 U/g) was seen at 12th day. The study revealed that the addition of nitrogen source improves the metabolic activity of the organism. Monosodium glutamate and ammonium nitrate improved the growth than other supplements. Various parameters were optimized to check the pigment stability. Pigments showed high stability at low temperatures (30-60°C) and become low at high temperature (above 60°C) and high stability at near-neutrality pH values (8.0) when compared to acidic pH values (4.0-6.0). FTIR analysis was performed to determine the chemical bonds in a molecule by infrared absorption spectra of Pigments. IR indicated that it is a phenolic compound and has broad stretching OH, C=C and C-H groups of the aromatic ring. It can be concluded that the microbial pigment produced can find application in the areas of textile, pharmaceuticals and food industries.