Challenges and Opportunities with Pyocyanin Pigment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Microbial secondary metabolites are the organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, or reproduction of an organism but very useful for human health. These are formed during the stationary phase (idiophase) of culture, also known as idiolites such as pigments, toxins, alkaloids, antibiotics, etc, and have a very unusual structure. Production of secondary metabolites occurred when there is depletion of one or more nutrients in the culture medium. Microbial pigments such as carotenoids, melanin, prodigiosin, violacein, pyocyanin, etc, are natural colors that hold promising potential to meet various challenges in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sector. Pyocyanin is one of many natural pigments, a blue-colored redox-active secondary metabolite, which is produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Several virulence factors are secreted by P. aeruginosa that can contribute to its pathogenicity and pyocyanin pigment is one of them. It causes oxidative stress to the host, disrupting host catalase, mitochondrial electron transport, induces apoptosis in neutrophils as well as inhibits the phagocytosis of apoptotic bodies by macrophages. It is challenging for anti-virulence drug intervention to control the pathogenesis of P.aeruginosa to some extent by targeting the biosynthetic pathway of pyocyanin. Besides this, pyocyanin pigment possesses antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancerous, and immunosuppressive properties. This article aims to describe challenges posed by pyocyanin pigment of P. aeruginosa and its potential applications in various fields of biotechnology