348
J. Jeevanandam et al.
producing a particular pigment have to be explored thoroughly to choose the best
source of culture for effective productivity and increased financial output. The market
for the pigments derived from various sources are kept at a high due to the increased
awareness about the benefits of bio-products, the demand is rather satisfied with the
alternative and synthetic substitutes. This bottleneck is mainly due to the difficulties
associated with the mass production of microalgae, resource cost and comparative
cheaper production cost in the case of synthetic pigments (Ambati et al. 2018).
Although there is a wide demand for plant pigments in the International market,
95% of this is satisfied by the synthetic substitutes. Synthetic pigments are often
derived from petrochemical products and often raise alarming food safety issues
with a potential toxicity in the end product. Besides, the hazard of environmental
distress and sustainability issues also arise with the synthetic production. In fact, to
date, the usage of synthetic pigments is restricted to its usage in aquaculture and
are not permitted to consume by humans. Increasing awareness has spearheaded the
market improvement for the naturally derived pigments due to the transition towards
“green alternatives” and organic products, the market is expected to hit a $1.5 billion
by the end of 2020 with all the natural pigments gaining an upper hand in the market
(Bhat and Madyastha 2000; Begum et al. 2016).
14.5 Current and Future Perspective
The current status of microalgal pigments is concisely elaborated in this chapter. It
is noteworthy that the microalgal pigments are extensively beneficial in improving
the bioeconomy of algae-based companies and as a potential economic booster.
The market size of microalgal products is increasing rapidly, especially the products with microalgal pigments are easily reaching the break-even point in a short
time, due to low production cost and high yield (Singh et al. 2017). Among the
microalgal/phycopigments, carotenoids are widely in several companies for the
production of natural pigments and use them in finished products. In the US, Astaxanthin has been used by Mera Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Valensa International, βcarotene by aquacarotene Ltd., Spirulina by Nutrex Hawaii Inc., Chlorella by Maypro
Industries Inc. for large quantities of organic pigment production. In addition, Cyanotech Corporation in US is the producing large quantities of astaxanthin and βcarotene for commercial applications that are extracted from Spirulina and Chlorella.
Likewise, Fuji Chemicals Industry Co., Ltd., in Japan and Sweden extracted astaxanthin pigments from microalgal species for various applications. Other Japanese
companies such as Nikken Sohonsha Corporation extracted β-carotene, Sun Chlorella
Corporation and Yaeyama Shokusan Co., Ltd., used Chlorella to extract phycopigments to produce commercial products. In India, astaxanthin and β-carotene is
produced in large quantities by E.I.D Parry Ltd., and the same company along with
Hydrolina Biotech Pvt., Ltd., produced phycopigments with Spirulina for medicinal
applications. Other countries such as China, Australia, Israel, Taiwan, and Germany
also produces large quantities of phycopigments for unique and valuable commercial
J. Jeevanandam et al.
producing a particular pigment have to be explored thoroughly to choose the best
source of culture for effective productivity and increased financial output. The market
for the pigments derived from various sources are kept at a high due to the increased
awareness about the benefits of bio-products, the demand is rather satisfied with the
alternative and synthetic substitutes. This bottleneck is mainly due to the difficulties
associated with the mass production of microalgae, resource cost and comparative
cheaper production cost in the case of synthetic pigments (Ambati et al. 2018).
Although there is a wide demand for plant pigments in the International market,
95% of this is satisfied by the synthetic substitutes. Synthetic pigments are often
derived from petrochemical products and often raise alarming food safety issues
with a potential toxicity in the end product. Besides, the hazard of environmental
distress and sustainability issues also arise with the synthetic production. In fact, to
date, the usage of synthetic pigments is restricted to its usage in aquaculture and
are not permitted to consume by humans. Increasing awareness has spearheaded the
market improvement for the naturally derived pigments due to the transition towards
“green alternatives” and organic products, the market is expected to hit a $1.5 billion
by the end of 2020 with all the natural pigments gaining an upper hand in the market
(Bhat and Madyastha 2000; Begum et al. 2016).
14.5 Current and Future Perspective
The current status of microalgal pigments is concisely elaborated in this chapter. It
is noteworthy that the microalgal pigments are extensively beneficial in improving
the bioeconomy of algae-based companies and as a potential economic booster.
The market size of microalgal products is increasing rapidly, especially the products with microalgal pigments are easily reaching the break-even point in a short
time, due to low production cost and high yield (Singh et al. 2017). Among the
microalgal/phycopigments, carotenoids are widely in several companies for the
production of natural pigments and use them in finished products. In the US, Astaxanthin has been used by Mera Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Valensa International, βcarotene by aquacarotene Ltd., Spirulina by Nutrex Hawaii Inc., Chlorella by Maypro
Industries Inc. for large quantities of organic pigment production. In addition, Cyanotech Corporation in US is the producing large quantities of astaxanthin and βcarotene for commercial applications that are extracted from Spirulina and Chlorella.
Likewise, Fuji Chemicals Industry Co., Ltd., in Japan and Sweden extracted astaxanthin pigments from microalgal species for various applications. Other Japanese
companies such as Nikken Sohonsha Corporation extracted β-carotene, Sun Chlorella
Corporation and Yaeyama Shokusan Co., Ltd., used Chlorella to extract phycopigments to produce commercial products. In India, astaxanthin and β-carotene is
produced in large quantities by E.I.D Parry Ltd., and the same company along with
Hydrolina Biotech Pvt., Ltd., produced phycopigments with Spirulina for medicinal
applications. Other countries such as China, Australia, Israel, Taiwan, and Germany
also produces large quantities of phycopigments for unique and valuable commercial