A process for the preparation of food colourant from spirulina

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of food colourant from Spirulina. The present invention more particularly relates to an integrated process for the preparation of phycocyanin using aqueous two-phase extraction (ATPE) and osmotic membrane distillation (OMD). The major advantages of ATPE are high capacity, biocompatible environment, low interfacial tension, high yields, lower process time and energy, and high selectivity. Aqueous two-phase systems are well known for their utility in the extraction and purification of biological materials such as enzymes/proteins, nucleic acids, viruses, cell organelles etc.