PIGMENTED YEASTS AS SOURCES OF SUBSTANCES WITH ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the biochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of eight strains of pigmented yeasts from the genus Rhodotorula and Sporobolomyces. Biomass productivity, protein, carbohydrate, carotenoid contents, total antioxidant activity, catalase-type enzymes and antifungal activity of the strains cultivated on the YPD nutrient medium under identical conditions were determined. The obtained results allow us to conclude that the biomass of pigmented yeasts, especially Rhodotorula gracilis, is an excellent source of proteins of 64.53±9.10 - 74.93±7.41 % d.w. and carotenoids of 190.1±19.1 - 293.23±24.84 µg·g-1, the content of which varies depending on the strain. At the same time, of the eight studied strains, the S. pararoseus CNMN-Ys-01 showed maximum carotenoid synthesis potential of 341.26±51.29 µg·g-1. The studied yeast strains possess high antioxidant activity up to 85.48±3.93 % of inhibition and of CAT-type enzymes at the level of 91.87±8.18 - 738.0±81.88 mmol·min-1·mg-1 protein. The antimicrobial test established that the studied yeast strains showed antagonism towards some strains of phytopathogenic fungi. Thus, pigmented yeasts present a valuable source of biologically active substances with antioxidant, enzymatic and antimicrobial effects with enormous potential for use in agriculture, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, the cosmetic industry, etc.