The use of violacein to study biochemical behaviour of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

Violacein, a biochemical compound produced by Chromobacterium violaceum which has antichagasic properties, was used to study biochemical behaviour of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. At 20 microM and 40 microM, violacein did not alter the membrane potential (deltapsi) of S. cerevisae cells, which means that the integrity of the cell membrane was maintained. On the other hand, at 60 microM and 80 microM, violacein produced significant alterations in the membrane potential. This information will be very useful in using S. cerevisiae cells as a model to test the toxicity of new drugs before using in animals or human beings.