*4.3. Fusarium* sp.

*Fusarium* are Ascomycota fungi that belong to the order Hypocreales, family Nectriaceae. They produce a wide range of fungal pigments that are structurally and functionally diverse. However, among the *Fusarium* sp., *Fusarium graminearum* (red naphthoquinone pigment, *rubrofusarin*) [40], *Fusarium fujikuroi* (orange carotenoids pigment, fusarubin) [43,69] and *Fusarium oxysporum* (red naphthoquinone pigment, bikaverin) [44] are the major pigment-producing fungi. Secondary metabolites from these fungi contain numerous toxic compounds, viz., fumonisins, zearalenone, fusaric acid, fusarins and beauvericins [70].

Toxicity analysis revealed that the red dimeric naphthoquinone pigment from *F. oxysporum*contaminated products affects human health. Recently, red naphthoquinone pigment has often been reported as a mycotoxin. However, naphthoquinone pigment was not genotoxic according to a DNA synthesis assay. Biotechnological approaches and intelligent screening of the toxic metabolite pathway of the pigment from *Fusarium* sp. will be helpful in producing the pigment for food coloring [41,42].
