摘要：Melanins are polyphenolic or indolic dark-brown to black pigments of macromolecules and have many biological activities. In this present study, a new strain with extracellular melanin producing ability was isolated from fresh sand bones underground 40-50 cm collected from desert region at Ninxia province, China. The strain was identified to be Chroogomphus rutilus ( C. rutilus ) D447 by Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) DNA sequence. The melanin had typical synthetic melanins physical and chemical properties including its maximum ultraviolet absorption peaks at 212 nm, strong and broad bands in region of 3.400-3.200 cm-1 in infrared (IR) spectra and chemical reactions. The melanin did not dissolve in acidic or neutral water and had good stability at high temperature of 100°C for 5 h, sunlight for 40 day, ultraviolet for 240 min and conventional food additives including 5% sucrose, 5% glucose, 0.5% sodium benzoate and 1.0% potassium sorbate. This is the first report of extracellular melanin from C. rutilus D447 and it has potential applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
