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VOL. 8, ISSUE 2 (2026)
Isolation of pigment producing bacteria from rabbit urine
Authors
Sarthak Vishnupant Madake
Abstract
Bacteria produce pigment for various reasons and some bacteria like Staphylococcus
aureus produces Carotenoid pigment called Staphyloxanthin, which give it a
characteristic golden color. Staphyloxanthins a triterpenoid carotenoid, which
shows antioxidant properties. This bacterium mostly found in rabbit urine.
Normal rabbit urine ranges in color from light yellow to a deep
orange-red due to plant pigments or pigments called porphyrins produced by the
bladder. Some specimens of rabbit urine yield more than two different isolates,
and staphylococci are the most frequently isolated bacteria. Oxalate and uric
acid crystals were seen in 6% of the samples, particularly those with
significant growths of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Rabbit urine has tremendous
application in agriculture it has shown to possess inhibitory activity against
bacteria. The chemical element present in rabbit urine are Nitrogen,
Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Calcium carbonate, Triple phosphate, Calcium
oxalate, Methionine, etc. Rabbit urine is considered an excellent fertilizer
because of its chemical composition. It is also an effective organic manure for
vegetables and other arable crops. Rabbit urine contains six times most useful
elements found in another livestock's waste. The isolation of pigment producing
bacteria was done by steak or spread plate method. The Mannitol salt agar
medium was used for the isolation procedure. From the isolated culture, various
preliminary test, biochemical test and antimicrobial activity were performed.
Antioxidant properties can be determined by hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity.
High cost of using synthetic medium there is need to develop new low-cost
process for the production of pigment as well as for the isolation procedure.
The pigments produced by bacteria can be isolated using Ethanol based
extraction method. These pigments can be purified and characterized using
analytical techniques like TLC. No antibacterial activity of Staphyloxanthin (STX)
was detected against the bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella
spp., Pseudomonas putida. Hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity assay was
performed to check STX pigment activity.
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Pages:18-25
How to cite this article:
Sarthak Vishnupant Madake "Isolation of pigment producing bacteria from rabbit urine". International Journal of Biotechnology and Microbiology, Vol 8, Issue 2, 2026, Pages 18-25
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