3.5 Stability of the colorants
The stability of the colorants was thoroughly assessed in this study,
considering various environmental factors. The resistance of the
colorants to temperature variations (-20°C, 40°C, 60°C, 80°C, and 100°C)
for a duration of 1 hour revealed no noticeable color reduction.
Additionally, the colorants displayed remarkable resistance to different
pH levels (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) during the same timeframe. However, out
of the fungi-derived colorants, only those obtained from P.
sclerotiorum P3SO224 exhibited 100% stability when incubated for 6
hours at different salt concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and
1% v/v). The other fungal colorants showed a significant reduction
(50% color loss) starting from 0.2% NaCl. Furthermore, no significant
color fading was observed in the fungal colorants after a 6-hour
incubation under both white light and UV light exposure.