Patent ID: 8883461

Claim:
A process for producing a microbial purple-blue bioactive pigment containing violacein and its derivative deoxyviolacein using Chromobacterium sp. MTCC 5522, wherein the Chromobacterium cells are 0.3 to 0.6 μm wide and 0.9 to 1.5 μm long, facultative aerobic Gram negative, oxidase positive, indole production test negative, methyl red test positive, Voges-Proskauer test negative, citrate utilization test positive, TSI test glucose fermenting only, catalase test negative and ureas test negative, the process comprising: (a) inoculating Chromobacterium sp. MTCC 5522 in a growth medium at a pH in the range of 5 to 9 at a temperature in the range of 27 to 32° C. for a time period in the range of 8 to 30 hrs under stirring at 150 to 250 rpm to obtain a bacterial biomass containing pigment; (b) mixing the bacterial biomass containing pigment as obtained in step (a) with a solvent in the ratio ranging between 1:3 to 1:5 to obtain a mixture; (c) centrifuging the mixture as obtained in step (b) at a speed in the range of 9660×g to 10,000×g at a temperature ranging between 4° C. and 7° C. for a period in the range of 10 to 15 minutes to obtain a solvent extracted pigment; (d) concentrating the solvent extracted pigment as obtained in step (c) by rotary evaporation or vacuum drying at a temperature ranging between 50° C. to 70° C. to obtain the microbial purple-blue bioactive pigment containing violacein and its derivative deoxyviolacein.