392
A. S. Fernandes et al.
The natural colourants of food are estimated as the largest segment in the food
colouring market, representing more than 80% of the total revenue of this sector.
Thus, the global food colours market was set at USD 1.79 billion in 2016, with
revenue growth estimated at USD 2.97 billion by 2025 (Grand View Research 2019).
In this context, to meet these requirements, the global microalgae market has
emerged as a consistent alternative to gain market share in the food additive segment
(Molino et al. 2018). Currently, the largest field of application of microalgae is in the
food sector, where proteins, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins, and fatty acids are the
products that stand out at the level of commercialization (Khan et al. 2018; JacobLopes et al. 2019). However, recently, a growing proportion of promising microalgae
research focuses on the production of pigments, including chlorophylls class, since
these bioactive compounds are present in these microorganisms in abundance and
with wide structural diversity (Begum et al. 2016; Solymosi and Mysliwa-Kurdziel
2016; Fernandes et al. 2017; Dufossé 2018).
Chlorophylls are fundamental molecules of life and probably the most important
and widely distributed of all natural pigments, responsible for conferring several
green hues (Sigurdson et al. 2017). Constitute a diversified group of molecules, with
structures similar to each other, with five species characterized as chlorophyll a, b,
c, d, and f (Scheer 2013; Roca et al. 2016). Conversely, one of the most significant
chemical aspects of the structure of chlorophylls is their degree of instability, being
susceptible to several transformations in their chemical structure in the presence of
enzymes, acids, oxygen, light, and heat, giving rise to several derivative compounds.
Accordingly, may present modifications in their oxidation state or degree of saturation of the aromatic system of the macrocyclic, associated with different transition
metals (such as copper and zinc complexes replacing the central magnesium), epimerization in the isocyclic rings, as well the changes in the side chain substituents of
these structures (Senge et al. 2014; Roca et al. 2016). Thus, are formed their respective breakdown metabolites like pheophytins, chlorophyllides, chlorophyllins, and
pheophorbides, which have to present some small differences in their chemistry
stability, their absorption spectra, and consequently in their tonality and bioactive
potential (Pérez-Gálvez et al. 2017).
Although chlorophylls and their compounds derivative have a broad wide range
of technological applications, such as in the monitoring of agricultural production
and primary productivity of the oceans and use as nutraceutical and pharmaceutical
area, the main economic attribute of these molecules today is their application as the
food colourant. Accordingly, these molecules, deepen, or renew the food colour if it
has been lost in the course of technological processing (Martins et al. 2019; Vieira
et al. 2019).
Hence, your application as food colourant it is not only related to its colour
attribute but their potential of the health benefits associated with their unique individual photochemical properties (Solymosi and Mysliwa-Kurdziel 2016; PérezGálvez et al. 2017). Epidemiological, in cell, animal, and human intervention studies
(Ferruzzi and Blaskelee 2007; Abd-Elhakim et al. 2018; Vieira et al. 2018) are in
increasing constant development in order to broaden the knowledge about potential
A. S. Fernandes et al.
The natural colourants of food are estimated as the largest segment in the food
colouring market, representing more than 80% of the total revenue of this sector.
Thus, the global food colours market was set at USD 1.79 billion in 2016, with
revenue growth estimated at USD 2.97 billion by 2025 (Grand View Research 2019).
In this context, to meet these requirements, the global microalgae market has
emerged as a consistent alternative to gain market share in the food additive segment
(Molino et al. 2018). Currently, the largest field of application of microalgae is in the
food sector, where proteins, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins, and fatty acids are the
products that stand out at the level of commercialization (Khan et al. 2018; JacobLopes et al. 2019). However, recently, a growing proportion of promising microalgae
research focuses on the production of pigments, including chlorophylls class, since
these bioactive compounds are present in these microorganisms in abundance and
with wide structural diversity (Begum et al. 2016; Solymosi and Mysliwa-Kurdziel
2016; Fernandes et al. 2017; Dufossé 2018).
Chlorophylls are fundamental molecules of life and probably the most important
and widely distributed of all natural pigments, responsible for conferring several
green hues (Sigurdson et al. 2017). Constitute a diversified group of molecules, with
structures similar to each other, with five species characterized as chlorophyll a, b,
c, d, and f (Scheer 2013; Roca et al. 2016). Conversely, one of the most significant
chemical aspects of the structure of chlorophylls is their degree of instability, being
susceptible to several transformations in their chemical structure in the presence of
enzymes, acids, oxygen, light, and heat, giving rise to several derivative compounds.
Accordingly, may present modifications in their oxidation state or degree of saturation of the aromatic system of the macrocyclic, associated with different transition
metals (such as copper and zinc complexes replacing the central magnesium), epimerization in the isocyclic rings, as well the changes in the side chain substituents of
these structures (Senge et al. 2014; Roca et al. 2016). Thus, are formed their respective breakdown metabolites like pheophytins, chlorophyllides, chlorophyllins, and
pheophorbides, which have to present some small differences in their chemistry
stability, their absorption spectra, and consequently in their tonality and bioactive
potential (Pérez-Gálvez et al. 2017).
Although chlorophylls and their compounds derivative have a broad wide range
of technological applications, such as in the monitoring of agricultural production
and primary productivity of the oceans and use as nutraceutical and pharmaceutical
area, the main economic attribute of these molecules today is their application as the
food colourant. Accordingly, these molecules, deepen, or renew the food colour if it
has been lost in the course of technological processing (Martins et al. 2019; Vieira
et al. 2019).
Hence, your application as food colourant it is not only related to its colour
attribute but their potential of the health benefits associated with their unique individual photochemical properties (Solymosi and Mysliwa-Kurdziel 2016; PérezGálvez et al. 2017). Epidemiological, in cell, animal, and human intervention studies
(Ferruzzi and Blaskelee 2007; Abd-Elhakim et al. 2018; Vieira et al. 2018) are in
increasing constant development in order to broaden the knowledge about potential