Phycocyanin: a novel marine bioactive compound, structure and extraction methods

Oceans and seas cover more than 70% of the Earth. They are habitat to many micro and macro organisms those have the ability to produce different bioactive compounds with different applications for obviating human needs. Many pigments, especially phycocyanins, are among bioactive compounds could be extracted from aquatic organisms. Phycocyanin is a protein from the family of phycobiliproteins, which is characterized by its blue color and antioxidant properties. This protein is one of the main pigments in cyanobacteria and many seaweed, including red algae. The antioxidant properties of this pigment make it a good choice for using as a food additive. In addition, phycocyanin is widely used in many sectors such as cosmetics as well as medicine. There are several ways to extract phycocyanin, each of them has advantages and disadvantages. The present study tries to introduce and review phycocyanin and its structure as well as different extraction methods and the effect of factors on this process.