Production of Biopigments from Agro-Industrial Waste

Owing to the negative impact of synthetic colourants on human health, nowadays, there is an increasing trend to replace these colourants with natural counterparts for their utilization in the food-processing industry. These natural counterparts or natural pigments are mainly isolated and derived from plant sources or insect tissues, which are dependent upon raw material availability. Much more consideration has been given to the utilization of microbial pigments as colourants compared to those derived from plant and animal sources. The development of value-added products is an effective method of waste management and environmental pollution control, such as the use of waste generated from agriculture for pigment production, and it is now a preferred technology. This chapter is mainly devoted to the production of microbial pigments by utilizing agro-industrial waste and their industrial applications.