Progress of research on prodigiosin

Prodigiosin is a natural red pigment derived primarily from secondary metabolites of microorganisms, especially Serratia marcescens. Prodigiosin has been proven to have antitumor, antibacterial, antimalaria, anti‐insect, antialgae, and immunosuppressive activities, and is gaining increasing important in the global market because of its great potential application value in clinical medicine development, environmental treatment, preparation of food additives, and so on. This paper reviews the progress of the research on prodigiosin.