Extraction of natural pigments from marine algae

The pigment content in microalgae is a specific feature of each species. Pigments from natural sources are gaining more importance mainly due to health and environmental issues. Algae contain a wide range of pigments. Three major classes of pigments are chlorophylls, carotenoids (carotenes and xanthophylls) and phycobilins (Phycocyanin and phycoerythrin). Phycocyanin and phycoerythrin belong to the major class of phycobilins photosynthetic pigment while fucoxanthin and peridinin belong to carotenoid group of photosynthetic pigment. Macro- and microalgae (including cyanobacteria) have been recognized to provide a wide diversity of metabolites including pigments for energy capture and photo-protection.