Harnessing Nature's Palette: Exploring Photosynthetic Pigments for Sustainable Biotechnology.

Photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, microalgae, and anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (APB) have emerged as sustainable and economic biotechnology platforms due to their ability to transform energy from light into chemicals through photosynthesis. The light is absorbed by photosynthetic pigment-protein antenna complexes which are composed of pigments such as bacteriochlorophylls (BChl) and carotenoids in APB, and chlorophylls (Chl), phycobiliproteins (PBP), and carotenoids in cyanobacteria and microalgae. These photosynthetic pigments are essential in the physiology of photosynthetic microorganisms and offer significant health benefits due to their potent antioxidant activity, with properties that include anticancer, antiaging, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. This review first provides an overview of current advances in photosynthetic pigment synthesis and the latest strategies to increase pigment content in cyanobacteria, microalgae, and APB. It then delves into the pigment production process, covering biosynthetic pathways, critical environmental parameters, and extraction methods. Finally, the potential marketability of photosynthetic pigments together with current limitations are discussed.