Production and Characterization of Microbial Carotenoids as an Alternative to Synthetic Colors: a Review

Carotenoids are important group of pigments with specific applications in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries owing to their biological properties like antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, and immune-modulator. The demand of carotenoids as nutraceutical compounds has triggered the research to explore a commercially viable process for economic production of carotenoids. This article presents a review of carotenoids from microbial origin identifying the conditions used for their cultivation and applications.