A review on C-phycocyanin (CPC): genetic regulation, production, techno-economic feasibility, and sustainability

Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are one of the prominent pigments produced by Cyanobacteria, and phycocyanin (PC) is a major pigment. Rhodophytes, cryptophytes, and cyanobacteria all contain the blue pigment CPC, which has antioxidative and fluorescent qualities. The PC production is mainly done through open ponds, which increases the risk of contamination. The factors influencing the production of PC including the various strains, light intensity, photoperiod, nutrient sources and modes of production (photoautotrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic modes) is critically discussed. The productivity and safety of PC production have improved under photobioreactors and a heterotrophic production system. It has been demonstrated that altering the genetic and metabolic structure of algae strains can boost PC output and enhance its quality. This paper highlights specific methods for extracting PC, such as freeze-thaw methods, high-pressure homogenizations, ionic liquids, supercritical fluids, pulse electric fields, and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Mainly review articles focus on production stracegies of cyanobacterial biomass and less review has been published production approach of CPC with their extraction extraction etsrategies. Additionally, this review article contains information on current insights concerning the source and production of CPC, along with in-depth details regarding the genetic regulation of CPC biosynthesis and its techno-economic feasibility and sustainability.