The scarlet metabolite: recent insights into prodigiosin biosynthesis, biological activities and potential applications – a review

Growing consumer demand for safe, sustainable, and multifunctional natural pigments has renewed scientific interest in prodigiosin, a red tripyrrole metabolite produced by <i>Serratia</i> spp., <i>actinomycetes</i>, and several other bacteria. This mini-review evaluates over 130 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025, highlighting key advances and remaining limitations including low yield, pigment instability, and incomplete toxicological data. Recent studies highlight significant improvements in yield through substrate engineering, metabolic engineering, and bioprocess optimization. Prodigiosin exhibits diverse bioactivities including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-ferroptotic, and immunomodulatory effects, demonstrating strong potential for functional and nutraceutical foods, biomedical formulations, and agricultural applications. However, limitations remain concerning large-scale production, downstream recovery costs, pigment stability, and incomplete toxicological profiling. This review uniquely integrates biosynthesis, process engineering, emerging green extraction technologies, structure activity relationships, and future perspectives, offering a holistic reference for advancing industrial-scale production and application of prodigiosin.