# Staphylococcus aureus’s golden-yellow pigment staphyloxanthin: production enhancement, analytical characterization, and biological attributes

## TL;DR

This review explores staphyloxanthin, a yellow pigment from Staphylococcus aureus, focusing on its production, characterization, and potential health applications.

## Contribution

This is the first review to comprehensively cover the biotechnological aspects of staphyloxanthin production and use.

## Key findings

- Staphyloxanthin has potent antioxidant properties and protects against reactive oxygen species.
- Biotechnological methods like metabolic engineering and fermentation optimization can enhance staphyloxanthin yield.
- The pigment shows promise as an antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer agent.

## Abstract

Staphyloxanthin (STX), an apocarotenoid golden yellow pigment produced by Staphylococcus aureus isolates, is endowed with potent antioxidant capacity. It plays a crucial role in combating reactive oxygen species (ROS), exhibiting considerable application prospects. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the biosynthetic pathway and various approaches for STX bioproduction in S. aureus. Moreover, this review focuses on advancements in biotechnology for enhancing the yield of STX in S. aureus, including mutagenesis breeding, metabolic engineering, transcriptional regulation, and the optimization of fermentation conditions. This review addresses the extraction process, purification, and analytical characterization of STX pigment. Additionally, this review highlights the diverse applications of STX in healthcare settings as an antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anticancer, and DNA damage protection agent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review reporting the biotechnological aspects of STX from S. aureus as a natural biotechnologically valued product.