Review Multifaceted Applications of Microbial Pigments: Current Knowledge, Challenges and Future Directions for Public Health Implications Chatragadda Ramesh 1,2,*, Nambali Valsalan Vinithkumar 2, Ramalingam Kirubagaran 3, Chidambaram Kulandaisamy Venil 4 and Laurent Dufossé 5,* 1 National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), NCCR Field Office, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Mandapam Camp, TN 623519, India 2 Atal Centre for Ocean Science and Technology for Islands, ESSO-NIOT, Dollygunj, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744103, India 3 Marine Biotechnology Group, ESSO-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences (Govt. of India), Chennai, TN 600100, India 4 Anna University, Department of Biotechnology, Coimbatore, TN 641046, India 5 Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles et des Sciences des Aliments–LCSNSA EA 2212, Université de La Réunion, ESIROI Agroalimentaire, 15 Avenue René Cassin, CS 92003, F-97744 Saint-Denis Cedex 9, Ile de La Réunion, France * Correspondance:
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[email protected] (L.D.); Tel.: +91 (0) 3192 225083/95 (C.R.); +33262217544 (L.D.) Received: 27 May 2019; Accepted: 27 June 2019; Published: 28 June 2019 Abstract: Microbial oddities such as versatile pigments are gaining more attention in current research due to their widely perceived applications as natural food colorants, textiles, antimicrobial activities, and cytotoxic activities. This indicates that the future generation will depend on microbial pigments over synthetic colorants for sustainable livelihood. Although several reviews have detailed the comprehensive applications of microbial pigments extensively, knowledge on several aspects of pigmented microbes is apparently missing and not properly reviewed anywhere. Thus, this review has been made to provide overall knowledge on biodiversity, distribution, pathogenicity, and ecological and industrial applications of microbial pigments as well as their challenges and future directions for food, industrial, and biomedical applications.