Technological and Scientific Prospection on Pigments Produced by Microorganisms.

Background: Interest in natural pigments has grown due to the negative aspects caused by synthetic options, which trigger damage to the body and the environment. Research with natural pigments produced by microorganisms becomes viable in relation to other pigments extracted from animals or plants, as microorganisms have advantages in terms of versatility and productivity. Thus, production technologies are protected by patents.

Methods: To evaluate the evolution of research and technological development on producing natural pigments by different microorganisms through scientific and technological prospection. Scientific prospecting was done by searching articles published from 2010 to 2020 in the Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases. Technological prospecting was carried out with patents obtained from the European Patent Office (ESPACENET) database.

Results: The searches were based on the keywords "pigment" and "dye" crossed with microalgae, fungi, bacteria and yeast. A total of 2.811 articles and 451 patents were selected. Scientific prospecting has shown interest in alternative cultivation media, and among the microorganisms that produce pigments, fungi and microalgae are the most studied.

Conclusion: Technological prospecting showed that 375 (83%) recovered patent documents refer to the protection of pigment extraction and production techniques and that the largest patent holders are private companies, followed by Chinese universities.