Multifarious pigment producing fungi of Western Ghats and their potential

Abstract

Concerns about the negative impacts of synthetic colorants on both consumers and the environment have sparked a surge of interest in natural colorants. This has boosted the global demand for natural colorants in the food, cosmetics and textile industries. Pigments and colorants derived from plants and microorganisms are currently the principal sources used by modern industry. When compared to the hazardous effects of synthetic dyes on human health, natural colors are quickly degradable and have no negative consequences. In fact, fungal pigments have multidimensional bioactivity spectra too. Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot has a lot of unique ecological niches known to harbor potential endophytic pigment-producing fungi having enumerable industrial and medical applications. Most of the fungi have coevolved with the plants in a geographical niche and hence the endophytic associations can be thought to bring about many mutually beneficial traits. The current review aims to highlight the potential of fungal pigments found in the Western ghats of India depicting various methods of isolation and screening, pigment extraction and uses. There is an urgent need for bioprospecting for the identification and characterization of extremophilic endophytic fungi to meet industry demands and attain sustainability and balance in nature, especially from geographic hotspots like the Western Ghats.