Among the natural sources, pigment producing microorganisms have potential to meet actual new defies. Natural colors develop the market tendencies of the product including associated features such as antioxidant, anticancer properties, to name just a few. Several microorganisms are promising for natural colors prospection due its increased management flexibility for cultivation. Most significant natural pigments produced by bacteria, algae and fungi were compiled. Nowadays, researchers continue to bio-explore for novel compounds from microbes and fungi obtaining several drugs which valuated the fungal bio-prospecting market. Moreover they have stressed the urgent need to search for sites and substrates with high fungal richness towards protection of fungal resources for unique compound detection. In this review, a general summary and most notorious reports on this topic are mentioned. Moreover, various sources of microbial pigments and the needs to explore their biological and medicinal properties like antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory are presented. The study also emphasizes upon key parameters to improve the bioactivity and production of microbial pigments for their commercial use

Fil: Fernández, Natalia Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad de Bariloche. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Microbiología Aplicada y Biotecnología; Argentina

Fil: Pagano, Marcela Claudia. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasil

Fil: Rosa, Luiz Henrique. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasil