Bacterial Carotenoids: Extraction, Characterization, and Applications.

This study focuses on bacterial carotenoids: extraction, characterization, and applications.. The research employs high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques to address analytical challenges in the pharmaceutical field. Natural carotenoids are secondary metabolites that exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. These types of compounds are highly demanded by pharmaceutical, cosmetic, nutraceutical, and food industries, leading to the search for new natural sources of carotenoids. In recent years, the production of carotenoids from bacteria has become of great interest... Research Background and Significance Carotenoids are naturally occurring pigments widely recognized for their potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities, making them highly valuable in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, nutraceutical, and food industries. Traditionally sourced from plants and algae, carotenoids extraction from bacteria has recently garnered significant attention due to bacteria’s capacity for sustainable, scalable, and diverse carotenoid production. This shift is motivated by the growing demand for natural bioactive compounds with well-characterized safety and efficacy profiles. The study by López et al. (2023) addresses critical analytical challenges in isolating, identifying, and quantifying bacterial carotenoids using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a gold-standard technique for complex natural product analysis. Their work is significant as it validates robust HPLC methodologies tailored to pharmaceutical applications, ensuring reliability and reproducibility in characterizing these bioactive molecules. This advancement supports the integration of bacterial carotenoids into pharmaceutical development pipelines, facil