Prodigiosin: a promising biomolecule with many potential biomedical applications

Abstract

Pigments are among the most fascinating molecules found in nature and used by human civilizations since the prehistoric ages. Although most of the bio-dyes reported in the literature were discovered around the eighties, the necessity to explore novel compounds for new biological applications has made them resurface as potential alternatives. Prodigiosin (PG) is an alkaloid red bio-dye produced by diverse microorganisms and composed of a linear tripyrrole chemical structure. PG emerges as a really interesting tool since it shows a wide spectrum of biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, algicidal, anti-Chagas, anti-amoebic, antimalarial, anticancer, antiparasitic, antiviral, and/or immunosuppressive. However, PG vehiculation into different delivery systems has been proposed since possesses low bioavailability because of its high hydrophobic character (XLogP3-AA = 4.5). In the present review, the general aspects of the PG correlated with synthesis, production process, and biological activities are reported. Besides, some of the most relevant PG delivery systems described in the literature, as well as novel unexplored applications to potentiate its biological activity in biomedical applications, are proposed.

“Ectomosphere”: Insects and Microorganism Interactions

“…Strains of RPPS widely spread along the tissues of infested palms. Extensive studies have reported the antimicrobial activity of prodigiosin [ 278 , 279 ]. This finding is consistent with the antibacterial activity shown by RPPS strains collected from RPW vs. both Gram-positive ( Bacillus sp., Paenibacillus sp., Lysinibavillus sp.…”

Synthesis and properties of covalently linked phenyl bridged 3-pyrrolyl BODIPY–BODIPY dyads

“…Prodigiosins are natural products isolated from microorganisms and possess potent immunosuppressive, antimicrobial, antimalarial, and cytotoxic properties. [1][2][3] These are pyrrolyldipyrrins which are a sub-class of dipyrrins extended through the incorporation of a pyrrole at the 9-position. To enhance the cytotoxicity and improve toxicological profiles, a lot of attention has been focused on preparing prodigiosin derivatives 2a containing substituents or functional groups on any of the three-pyrrole rings.…”

Decylprodigiosin: a new member of the prodigiosin family isolated from a seaweed-associated Streptomyces

“…Members of the phylum Actinomycetota, considered the most prolific bacterial source of drug-lead chemicals ( Bahrami et al, 2022 ), have also been reported to synthetize prodigiosins. From several species of Streptomyces ( S. longisporuber , Streptomyces griseoviridis and S. coelicolor ), Actinomadura ( Actinomadura madurae and A. pelletieri ), and from Streptoverticillium rubrireticuli , undecylprodigiosin, butylcycloheptylprodigiosine, metacycloprodigiosin, nonylprodigiosin, prodigiosin 25-C and prodigiosins R1, R2 and R3 were described, highlighting actinobacterial metabolism richness in the production of these tripyrrole red pigments ( Harashima et al, 1967 ; Gerber, 1969 ; Gerber, 1975 ; TSAO et al, 1985 ; Kawasaki et al, 2008 ; Kimata et al, 2018 ; Islan et al, 2022 ; Kimata et al, 2023 ). The widespread occurrence of prodigiosins in phylogenetically distant microbes suggests that these molecules may play a significant, albeit uncertain and yet to be fully defined, physiological role.…”