There has been an increased interest in replacing synthetic colorants by colorants obtained from natural sources, especially microbial pigments.

Monascus pigments have been used as natural colorings and food additives in Asia for centuries but have raised toxicity issues. Recently, Talaromyces/Penicillium species have been recognized as potential strains to produce natural pigments similar to those produced by Monascus species.

To date, it has not been published a literature compilation about the research and development activity of Talaromyces/Penicillium pigments.

Developing a new bioprocess requires several steps, from an initial concept to a practical and feasible application. Industrial applications of fungal pigments will depend on: (i) characterization of the molecules to assure a safe consumption, (ii) stability of the pigments to the processing conditions required by the products where they will be incorporated, (iii) optimizing process conditions to achieve high yields, iv) implementing an efficient product recovery and (v) scale-up of the bioprocess.

The above aspects have been reviewed in detail to evaluate the feasibility of reaching a commercial scale of the pigments produced by Talaromyces/Penicillium. Finally, the biological activities of the pigments and their potential applications are discussed.

人们越来越关注用天然来源的着色剂，尤其是微生物颜料代替合成着色剂。

红曲霉颜料在亚洲已被用作天然色素和食品添加剂已有数百年历史，但提出了毒性问题。最近，已将Talaromyces / Penicillium菌种视为潜在菌株，可产生与红曲菌菌种相似的天然色素。

迄今为止，尚未发表有关塔拉霉菌/青霉色素的研究和开发活性的文献汇编。

开发新的生物过程需要几个步骤，从最初的概念到实际可行的应用。真菌颜料的工业应用将取决于：（i）表征分子以确保安全食用；（ii）颜料对掺入产品所需的加工条件的稳定性；（iii）优化加工条件以iv）实现有效的产品回收和（v）扩大生物工艺规模。

已经对上述方面进行了详细的回顾，以评估达到由Talaromyces / Penicillium生产的颜料达到商业规模的可行性。最后，讨论了颜料的生物活性及其潜在应用。