Phycocyanin from Arthrospira: Production, applications, and advances

Abstract

Phycocyanin (PC) is a blue-colored protein pigment associated with the accessory light-harvesting complex in cyanobacteria. It is a water-soluble, multimeric compound having fluorescent tetrapyrrole chromophores, which play obligate roles in the stability and functionality during the harvesting of light energy from the Sun. In addition, PC has an indispensable role in industry and commercial sectors including food technology, dye industry, cosmetics, biomedicals, biofuels, and green pharmaceutics. Recently, PC has also been reported to have various therapeutic properties such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiaging, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, anticancerous, immunoenhancer, and antiinflammatory properties. The cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis is a major producer of PC and is used for commercial and noncommercial applications in several countries. Increasing social awareness about harmful synthetic dyes has aroused the concern and demand of consumers for healthy pigment products. However, the production of PC is still less relative to the excessive demand due to inadequate cyanobacterial biomass production. To fulfill the outstanding demand, several new and upgraded technologies have been developed for the large-scale cultivation of biomass and production of PC from cyanobacteria in general and Arthrospira in particular. This chapter documents the current status and advances made in the production technologies, stress adaptability, and various applications of PC for human welfare. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.