Swiss researchers develop method to extract âblack goldâ from fungi Empa researcher Tine Kalac applies melanin as a varnish to Norway spruce wood. Empa Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have developed a simple method to extract natural melanin from mushrooms also known as "black gold". This unlocks new opportunities to create new materials and protect natural materials like wood. This content was published on March 13, 2021 - 13:10 March 13, 2021 - 13:10 empa/jdp The pigment melanin protects an organism from environmental stress. As an example, our skin darkens when exposed to the sun because melanin protects human skin from harmful UV light. In other organisms, such as fungi, melanin has a range of other properties.