Marine natural pigments: Bioactivities, production and application

This chapter discusses the natural pigments, such as carotenoids, tetrapyrroles, and quinones, obtained from marine macroinvertebrates. Carotenes and xanthophylls are two major groups of carotenoids. Tetrapyrroles are a class of compounds containing four pyrrole moieties, which are linked together by direct covalent bonds or carbon bridges. Chlorophylls, carotenoids and phycobiliproteins are the three common types of natural pigments found in marine algae. Chlorophylls, existed in all algae, higher plants and cyanobacteria, are greenish lipid-soluble natural pigments that bear a porphyrin ring. The chapter discusses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic activities of natural pigments. The modulation of macrophage function is the main basis of anti-inflammatory effect of natural pigments. Macrophages are present in immune cells in the natural immune system, which are of key importance in helping to maintain the homeostasis by adjusting their function in accordance with the tissue.