Studies on the dermal and ocular irritation of prodigiosin isolated from Zooshikella rubidus

This study was carried out to investigate the irritation of the prodigiosin isolated from Zooshikella rubidus on the skin and eyes in New Zealand white rabbits. The tests were performed on the basis of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) guidelines. Prodigiosin induced severe eye irritation at high concentration (0.5 g/site/ml) but there was no eye irritation at low concentration (0.3 mg/sitel ml). The primary irritation index was calculated from higher concentration (0.5 g/site/ml) to lower concentration (0.3 mg/site/ml). There were found non-irritation or induced mild irritation at lower concentration of prodigiosin application. On the basis of this study, it could be concluded that the prodigiosin may be non-irritant to mild irritant of usual application at lower concentration (0.3 mg/site) resulting it is safe and useful in dyeing technology of fabrics.