Utilization of Affordable Natural Substrates for Violacein Production by Chromobacterium violaceum

Article Sidebar

pdf
Published: Jul 26, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37506/9yjnwt42
Keywords:
Chromobacterium violaceum, violacein, natural substrate, low-cost medium, ethyl alcohol

Main Article Content

Mona S
Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6071-7404
Lakshanya V
Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Beside expanding awareness among the population for natural dyes over the synthetic dyes for environment friendly factors, there is demand for dyes and pigments from natural resources. Natural dyes and pigments can be obtained from various sources like, plants, insects, plant root, tree bark and microorganism. Bacterial pigment (violacein) produced by Chromobacterium violaceum, is highly in demand due to its pharmacological properties. In this study, initially two soil samples were collected from MCRC, Taramani, Chennai. C. violaceum was isolated from soil sample by serial dilution method. Screenings for the effective growth of C. violaceum in natural substrate medium (of low-cost) were performed. C. violaceum produces dark violet pigment called “VIOLACEIN”. As C. violaceum is a slow growing organism, the more days it is kept for incubation the more pigment is produced. Effective natural substrate medium was chosen for growth study. Appropriate solvent system for efficient extraction of violet pigment (violacein) was screened. The pigment is highly soluble in polar organic solvents and insoluble in water and non-polar organic solvents. In this study, ethyl alcohol was screened as suitable solvent for pigment extraction from the natural substrates. It was then employed for further application.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 11 No. 2 (2025): International Journal of Contemporary Microbiology
Section
Original Article
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Mona S, Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre

Natural Dye Research
Scientist Grade - I

I have been playing around pigment microbes, in particular bacteria for a decade. My research in pigmented bacteria started since my M.Sc. dissertation, where I focussed on isolating blue green pigment producing bacteria from soil and applying the extracted colour in textile materials. Later on, I continued my research journey with Doctoral programme with prestigious DST-INSPIRE fellowship. My doctoral research revolved around isolation of pigment producing bacteria from environmental samples. Further research, focussed on an intensive production of pigments (pyocyanin, prodigiosin and violacein) in a low-cost substrate with minimal nutrient supplements, and analysing its efficacy in textile dyeing and also as a colouring agent, that could aid in filling the gaps and focus on environmental related issues caused by synthetic dyes, pigments and colourants. My investigations till now, evidently show that dyes and pigments from microbial sources can be considered as an alternative to the synthetic dyes, pigments and colourants. 

Lakshanya V, Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Former B. Tech. Biotechnology student, Department of Biotechnology, Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

References

Agarwal H, Bajpai S, Mishra A, Kohli I, Varma A, Fouillaud M, Dufossé L, Joshi NC. Bacterial pigments and their multifaceted roles in contemporary biotechnology and pharmacological applications. Microorganisms. 2023;11(3):614. doi:10.3390/microorganisms11030614.

Tang Q, Li Z, Chen N, Luo X, Zhao Q. Natural pigments derived from plants and microorganisms: classification, biosynthesis, and applications. Plant Biotechnol J. 2025;23(2):592–614. doi:10.1111/pbi.14522.

Di Salvo E, Lo Vecchio G, De Pasquale R, De Maria K, Tardugno R, Vadalà R, Cicero N. Natural pigments production and their application in food, health and other industries. Nutrients. 2023;15(8):1923. doi:10.3390/nu15081923.

Singh T, Pandey VK, Dash KK, Zanwar S, Singh R. Natural bio-colorant and pigments: Sources and applications in food processing. J Agric Food Res. 2023;12:100628. doi:10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100628.

Rodríguez-Mena A, Ochoa-Martínez SLA, González-Herrera M, Rutiaga-Quiñones OM, González-Laredo RF, Olmedilla-Alonso B. Natural pigments of plant origin: Classification, extraction and application in foods. Food Chem. 2023;398:133908. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133908.

Rajendran P, Somasundaram P, Dufossé L. Microbial pigments: Eco-friendly extraction techniques and some industrial applications. J Mol Struct. 2023;1290:135958. doi:10.1016/j.molstruc.2023.135958.

Justo GZ, Durán N. Action and function of Chromobacterium violaceum in health and disease: Violacein as a promising metabolite to counteract gastroenterological diseases. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2017;31(6):649–656. doi:10.1016/j.bpg.2017.10.002.

Harley JP, Prescott LM. Laboratory exercises in microbiology. 5th ed. The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2002. p. 1–449.

Rettori D, Durán N. Production, extraction and purification of violacein: an antibiotic pigment produced by Chromobacterium violaceum. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 1998;14(5):685–688.

Rettori D, Durán N. Production, extraction and purification of violacein: an antibiotic pigment produced by Chromobacterium violaceum. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 1998;14(5):685–688.

Tuli HS, Chaudhary P, Beniwal V, Sharma AK. Microbial pigments as natural color sources: current trends and future perspectives. J Food Sci Technol. 2015;52(8):4669-78. doi: 10.1007/s13197-014-1601-6. Epub 2014 Oct 10. PMID: 26243889; PMCID: PMC4519520.

Yusuf M, Shabbir M, Mohammad F. Natural Colorants: Historical, Processing and Sustainable Prospects. Nat Prod Bioprospect. 2017;7:1–23.

Ahmad WA, Yusof NZ, Nordin N, Zakaria ZA, Rezali MF. Production and characterization of violacein by locally isolated Chromobacterium violaceum grown in agricultural wastes. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2012b;167(5):1220–1234.

Lu Y, Wang L, Xue Y, Zhang C, Xing XH, Lou K, Zhang Z, Li Y, Zhang G, Bi J, Su Z. Production of violet pigment by a newly isolated psychrotrophic bacterium from a glacier in Xinjiang, China. Biochem Eng J. 2009;43(2):135–141.

Fiedurek J, Gromada A, Jamroz J. Effect of medium components and metabolic inhibitors on β-galactosidase production and secretion by Penicillium notatum 1. J Basic Microbiol. 1996;36(1):27–32.

Bode HB, Bethe B, Höfs R, Zeeck A. Big effects from small changes: possible ways to explore nature's chemical diversity. ChemBioChem. 2002;3(7):619–627.

Miao LI, Kwong TF, Qian PY. Effect of culture conditions on mycelial growth, antibacterial activity, and metabolite profiles of the marine-derived fungus Arthrinium cf saccharicola. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2006;72(5):1063–1073.

Bills GF, Platas G, Fillola A, Jimenez MR, Collado J, Vicente F, Martin J, Gonzalez A, Bur-Zimmermann J, Tormo JR, Pelaez F. Enhancement of antibiotic and secondary metabolite detection from filamentous fungi by growth on nutritional arrays. J Appl Microbiol. 2008;104(6):1644–1658.

Xu P, Ding ZY, Qian Z, Zhao CX, Zhang KC. Improved production of mycelial biomass and ganoderic acid by submerged culture of Ganoderma lucidum SB97 using complex media. Enzyme Microb Technol. 2008;42(4):325–331.

Mohanty SS, Prakash S. Effects of culture media on larvicidal property of secondary metabolites of mosquito pathogenic fungus Chrysosporium lobatum (Moniliales: Moniliaceae). Acta Trop. 2009;109(1):50–54.

Kossuga MH, Romminger S, Xavier C, Milanetto MC, Valle MZD, Pimenta EF, Morais RP, Carvalho ED, Mizuno CM, Coradello LFC, Barroso VDM. Evaluating methods for the isolation of marine-derived fungal strains and production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Rev Bras Farmacogn. 2012;22(2):257–267.

Shang Z, Li XM, Li CS, Wang BG. Diverse secondary metabolites produced by marine-derived fungus Nigrospora sp. MA75 on various culture media. Chem Biodivers. 2012;9(7):1338–1348.

VanderMolen KM, Raja HA, El-Elimat T, Oberlies NH. Evaluation of culture media for the production of secondary metabolites in a natural products screening program. AMB Express. 2013;3(1):71.

Larsen TO, Smedsgaard J, Nielsen KF, Hansen ME, Frisvad JC. Phenotypic taxonomy and metabolite profiling in microbial drug discovery. Nat Prod Rep. 2005;22(6):672–695.

Abo-Zaid GA, Wagih EE, Matar SM, Ashmawy NA, Hafez EE. Optimization of pyocyanin production from Pseudomonas aeruginosa JY21 using statistical experimental designs. Int J ChemTech Res. 2015;8(9):137–148.

Ahmad WA, Ahmad WYW, Zakaria ZA, Yusof NZ. Application of bacterial pigments as colorant – The Malaysian perspective. In: Springer Briefs in Molecular Science. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2012a.

Venil CK, Yusof NZ, Aruldass CA, Ahmad WA. Application of violet pigment from Chromobacterium violaceum UTM5 in textile dyeing. Biologia. 2016;71(2):121–127.