A lecture at the College of Science calls for relying on bacterial pigments as an alternative to synthetic pigments

In cooperation with the Continuing Education Unit at the College of Science at the University of Baghdad, the Department of Life Sciences organized a lecture on “Bacterial Pigments and their Applications” in the presence of a number of students, researchers, and those who are concerned with biological affairs.

   The lecture aimed to demonstrate the importance of using bacterial pigments as an alternative to industrial pigments in many fields owing to their biological properties as antimicrobials, antiviruses and antioxidants.

     The lecture presented by Dr. Nisreen Hadi Odaa, included an introduction to the use of synthetic pigments on a large scale in many applications and the harmful effect of the synthetic pigments, such as the hypersensitivity or carcinogenic effects, and clarify the increasing interest in natural pigments from plants and microorganisms. She pointed out that bacterial pigments are an excellent alternative to synthetic ones, owing to their properties and their use as safe colouring agents in the cosmetics and food industry. She also recommended the need to rely on bacterial pigments as an alternative to synthetic ones in the food industry because they are non-toxic. Besides the bacterial pigments have distinct properties such as antimicrobial effect against many pathogenic bacteria.