**5. Conclusion**

*Pseudomonas aeruginosa - An Armory Within*

utilize the petroleum hydrocarbon [47].

agro-based industrial wastes [49].

[25] (**Figure 2**).

crobial activity [55–57].

*Pseudomonas* will normally release biosurfactant which will reduce crude oil from high molecular weight to low molecular weight. This is to enable the bacteria to

Biosurfactants are a structurally diverse group of surface-active substances produced by microorganisms. The microorganisms that produce biosurfactants include

All biosurfactants are amphiphiles which consist of two parts: a polar (hydro-

Generally, biosurfactants have an ability to stabilize emulsions in various industrial applications [50] and are well-used in the food and pharmaceutical industries to achieve stability of emulsions. In addition, they have been applied in polluted water and soil during bioremediation in order to reduce interfacial tension, and it

Rhamnolipids are the major type of biosurfactant produced by *Pseudomonas* 

Incorporating rhamnolipids into remediation process enhances the solubility and elimination of these contaminants by improving oil biodegradations rates. Comparative study of biosurfactants for washing soil contaminated with crude oil was carried out where rhamnolipids showed a high degradable capacity; 80% of oil were degraded. Oil washing experiments by a combination of 10 g/l NaCl, 5.0 g/l n-butyl alcohol, and 2.0 g/l rhamnolipid provide very high oil extraction rates [52–54]. Even though rhamnolipids are the preferred enhancers for petroleum hydrocarbon soil pollutant degradation and have shown potentials to facilitate the bioremediation of soil contaminated by hydrocarbons, it has been suggested that their application must be evaluated carefully to reduce their exhibition on antimi-

*Biosurfactant-assisted bioremediation of crude oil by indigenous bacteria. Isolated from Taean beach sediment [58].*

*aeruginosa* strain. Rhamnolipids are well-studied glycolipids secreted by *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* and have been found to have excellent surface activity

The advantages of biosurfactants over chemically synthesized surfactants includes but not limited to; pH tolerance, less toxicity to the environment, biodegradability, better foaming properties, and them being able to be produced from

**4.3 Production of biosurfactants by** *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*

*Pseudomonas*, *Bacillus*, *Micrococcus*, *Mycobacterium*, *Rhodococcus*, etc.

philic) moiety and nonpolar (hydrophobic) group [48].

enhances the polar and nonpolar moieties to mix up.

**104**

**Figure 2.**

Basically, strains of *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* have been widely implicated as clinical pathogens both in humans and in veterinary cases. In addition, they have been identified to be the causative agents of wound sepsis, septicemia, and nosocomial infections.

However, this chapter took a different dimension toward the beneficial roles of *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* strains in medicine, industries, and environment. The hopes of a clean environment through biodegradation of xenobiotics and bioremediation of hydrocarbon-impacted ecosystems are high with the use of *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*. In the industries, *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* holds a lot of practical promises toward production of intermediate products including metabolites such as rhamnolipids, vanillins, lipases, biopigments, etc.

Typically, in Nigeria and other developing countries, most of these materials from *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* are imported, and this does not encourage growth and development. Thus, local production of these intermediate products from *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* is adequate to save foreign reserves and promote development.
