Isolation of pigment producing organisms from unpolished Oryza sativa from India

Synthetic pigments generally have high toxicity content; it can be allergic, carcinogenic and even lead to gastrointestinal problems when consumed via food. These demerits of synthetic pigments led to research towards natural pigments or colors from natural source like microorganisms which is considered one of the best alternative natural sources for bio pigments. Isolations of pigmented colonies were carried out from unpolished raw rice, followed by a viable count in a phosphate buffer of pH 7.2 by pour plate and spread plate method. Organisms producing three different pigments – yellow, orange and pink were isolated. Two types of these pigments were intracellular while one was diffusible. Intracellular pigments – yellow and orange color pigments were extracted from producing cells by acetone/methanol solvent method. Extraction of diffusible pigment was carried out by using ethanol and petroleum ether method. And then antimicrobial activities of the isolated pigments were carried out by the agar cup method against S. aureus, E. coli as test organisms. The isolated pigments can be used in lip balm, nail paints, eco- friendly paints, etc.