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Evaluation of carotenoids and chlorophyll as natural resources for food in spirulina microalgae
Abstract
Microalgae can produce various natural products such as pigments, enzymes, unique fatty acids and vitamins that benefit humans. The objective of the study was evaluation of carotenoids (beta carotene, zeathanthin, lutein, lycopene and astaxanthin) and chlorophyll a in spirulina microalgae. Spirulina powder has been produced by Jordan's method in Iran. Carotenoids were extracted from Spirulina platensis by adopting a method described by Reboul; then the sample was prepared and injected into a HPLC instrument with triplicate injection. Chlorophyll's biomass content was determined by spectrophotometer. After assaying the curves of HPLC, the amount of chlorophyll a, astaxanthin, beta carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthin and lutein in spirulina was determined as 4.3±0.14, 0.21±0.02, 7393±2.76, 741±2.32, 6652±3.69 and 424±2.83 μg/ml respectively. Beta carotene account for 80% of the carotenoids present in spirulina after that zeaxanthin was most. At last, Spirulina was a good source for carotenoids as a pro-vitamin A in organisms.
... Lipids range from 6 to 13% (w w -1 ) and contain significant amounts of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids Mimouni et al. 2018;Olguín et al. 2001). They are considered an excellent source of pro-vitamin A (β-carotene), and represent approximately 80% of the carotenoids in Spirulina (Leema et al. 2010;Ghaeni, Roomiani, and Moradi 2015;Guedes, Amaro, and Malcata 2011). Besides, they have a large number of phenolic compounds (PC) (caffeic, chlorogenic, salicylic, synaptic and gallic acids), which favor their use as a functional food, a fact that has motivated its commercialization in several countries for the formulation of various foods and with therapeutic purposes (Gumbo and Nesamvuni 2017; Kepekçi and Saygideger 2012;Seghiri, Kharbach, and Essamri 2019). ...
... According to Ambati et al. (2019), the following carotenoids have already been identified in Spirulina: β-carotene, echinone, β-cryptoxathin, β-carotene-5,6-epoxide, 3-hydroxyechinenone, lutein, zeaxanthin, diatoxanthin, canthaxanthin, myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin. Spirulina has a high content of β-carotene (Wang, Fu, and Liu 2007), which represents 67-80% of its total carotenoids (Ghaeni, Roomiani, and Moradi 2015). This value is equivalent to 53% more retinol than the amount found in carrots (Dey and Rathod 2013). ...
Microalgae usually called “Spirulina” in the literature and in commercial packages have been studied as potential sources of protein for food and feed supplementation. These microalgae are produced industrially worldwide, being recognized as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and accepted by the European Union for human consumption. Apart from a high protein content and balanced amino acid composition, its biomass contains compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-viral and anti-microbial activities. Some of these compounds have been determined to boost the immune system and prevent diseases such as hyperglycemia, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. It has also been suggested that the supplementation with Spirulina biomass and/or its extracts could help immune systems to fight different viral infections, including those by SARS-CoV2, the etiologic agent of COVID-19. This immunity boosting activity has been related to the presence of some polysaccharides, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins, fatty acids and biopeptides in the biomass. In this context, this chapter will address the boosting effect of the immune system by Spirulina exploring its antiviral activity and respective mechanisms. The applications of the biomass as a supplement and nutraceuticals production will be also address.
... Lipids range from 6 to 13% (w w -1 ) and contain significant amounts of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids Mimouni et al. 2018;Olguín et al. 2001). They are considered an excellent source of pro-vitamin A (β-carotene), and represent approximately 80% of the carotenoids in Spirulina (Leema et al. 2010;Ghaeni, Roomiani, and Moradi 2015;Guedes, Amaro, and Malcata 2011). Besides, they have a large number of phenolic compounds (PC) (caffeic, chlorogenic, salicylic, synaptic and gallic acids), which favor their use as a functional food, a fact that has motivated its commercialization in several countries for the formulation of various foods and with therapeutic purposes (Gumbo and Nesamvuni 2017; Kepekçi and Saygideger 2012;Seghiri, Kharbach, and Essamri 2019). ...
... According to Ambati et al. (2019), the following carotenoids have already been identified in Spirulina: β-carotene, echinone, β-cryptoxathin, β-carotene-5,6-epoxide, 3-hydroxyechinenone, lutein, zeaxanthin, diatoxanthin, canthaxanthin, myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin. Spirulina has a high content of β-carotene (Wang, Fu, and Liu 2007), which represents 67-80% of its total carotenoids (Ghaeni, Roomiani, and Moradi 2015). This value is equivalent to 53% more retinol than the amount found in carrots (Dey and Rathod 2013). ...
... Spirulina platensis has been proved to be a valuable source of carotenoids enhancing the pigmentation in fish [41][42][43][44] and shrimps [45,46], and its inclusion in broodstock diet is recommended to avoid carotenoid deficiency-related problems in shrimp hatcheries [47]. β-Carotene and zeaxanthin, the main carotenoids determined in S. platensis, corn, and Ulva lactuca [48], are among the reported astaxanthin precursors in animal metabolic pathways [49]. Corn and corn products are considered potential major contributors of dietary zeaxanthin and lutein [50], whereas the green macroalga U. lactuca is a good contributor of dietary β-Carotene and other carotenoids [51,52], in addition to important vitamins and minerals. ...
... As previously [48] reported, astaxanthin is contained only in S. platensis at the concentration of 0.21 ± 0.02 µg/mL. The feed was administrated twice a week, and the farmed sea urchins were processed after two months of treatment. ...
Several echinoderms, including sea urchins, are valuable sources of bioactive compounds but their nutraceutical potential is largely unexplored. In fact, the gonads of some sea urchin species contain antioxidants including carotenoids and polyhydroxylated naphthoquinones (PHNQ’s), such as echinochrome A. Astaxanthin is known to have particular bioactivity for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. This carotenoid is produced by microalgae, while several marine invertebrates can bioaccumulate or synthetize it from metabolic precursors. We determined the carotenoid content and analyzed the bioactivity potential of non-harvested Atlantic-Mediterranean sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The comparison of methanol crude extracts obtained from eggs of farmed and wild specimens revealed a higher bioactivity in farmed individuals fed with a customized fodder. HPLC-analysis revealed a high concentration of astaxanthin (27.0 μg/mg), which was the only pigment observed. This study highlights the potential of farmed A. lixula as a new source of the active stereoisomer of astaxanthin.
... Spirulina protein content is a parameter that is favored because it has a high level of approximately 59% to 76% (dry basis) with a complete composition of essential amino acids. Other beneficial components of spirulina include phycocyanin, carotenoid including -carotene, zeaxanthin, and chlorophyll (Ghaeni et al., 2014). These components have a variety of health effects, including antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, and provitamin A sources (Park et al., 2018;Safari et al., 2020;Soror et al., 2022). ...
... In that sense, both Nannochloropsis sp. and Spirulina sp. are rich in the pigments β-carotene and zeaxanthin, although, on a dry weight basis, Spirulina sp. contains 2.5 and 15-fold higher β-carotene and zeaxanthin than Nannochloropsis sp., respectively (Ghaeni et al., 2015;Bernaerts et al., 2020). In addition, Spirulina sp. is also rich in phycocyanin, a blue-coloured photosynthetic pigment with free radical scavenging capacity (Fernandes et al., 2023). ...
... The purpose of this research is to study and review uses of Spirulina in the food and functional food industries. They concluded that Spirulina has high value nutritious combinations like protein, unsaturated fatty acids and biologically active pigments such as chlorophylls, carotenoids and fibro Bili proteins [20]. One of the most important benefits of spirulina-derived pigments, compared to their counterparts, is that the ingredients have several health-boosting properties when consumed and can be used as an element in the production of new functional foods. ...
Spirulina is a beneficial algae for delivering food security, preventing poverty, and managing malnutrition. Given the scientific data, it is possible to get all of the essential amino acids and proteins for the human diet from sources other than animal flesh, and spirulina has emerged as a plausible substitute. The coordinated, intelligent production and distribution system for spirulina algae proposed in this research may be used in developed countries. From a technological standpoint, a photobioreactor is suggested and utilized to produce algae in an appropriate environment. A dynamic mechanism for distributing spirulina is also envisaged. The last step is the offering of a management system based on transformative involvement.
... β-Carotene is an orange carotene and precursor for vitamin A. This pigment is produced by most microalgae, with the class Chlorophyceae being the major industrial producers, including Haematococcus and Scenedesmus among others (Banskota et al., 2019;Casella et al., 2019). However, the results in Table 3 show that some cyanobacteria like S. platensis can produce this pigment in higher concentrations, so its use should be further researched (Ghaeni et al., 2015). Just like astaxanthin, β-carotene acts as a photo-protector of the microalgal photosynthetic apparatus (Pawlak et al., 2013). ...
Wastewater disposal is a major environmental issue that pollutes water, causing eutrophication, habitat destruction, and economic impact. In Mexico, food-processing effluents pose a huge environmental threat due to their excessive nutrient content and their large volume discharged every year. Some of the most harmful residues are tequila vinasses, nejayote, and cheese whey. Each liter of tequila generates 13-15 L of vinasses, each kilogram of cheese produces approximately 9 kg of cheese whey, and each kilogram of nixtamalized maize results in the production of 2.5-3.3 L of nejayote. A promising strategy to reduce the contamination derived from wastewater is through microalgae-based wastewater treatment. Microalgae have a high adaptability to hostile environments and they can feed on the nutrients in the effluents to grow. Moreover, to increase the viability, profitability, and value of wastewater treatments, a microalgae biorefinery could be proposed. This review will focus on the circular bioeconomy scheme focused on the simultaneous food-processing wastewater treatment and its use to grow microalgae biomass to produce added-value compounds. This strategy allows for the revalorization of wastewater, decreases contamination of water sources, and produces valuable compounds that promote human health such as phycobiliproteins, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, exopolysaccharides, mycosporine-like amino acids, and as a source of clean energy: biodiesel, biogas, and bioethanol.
... According to Takai [83,84]. Their studies showed that Cphycocyanin and polysaccharides from Spirulina had a high Erythropoietin (EPO) activity [85]. ...
... The total carotenoid content also exhibited greater positive correlations with antioxidant activities (Park et al., 2018). Ghaeni et al. (2014) evaluated zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, lutein, beta carotene and lycopene from S. platensis by using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with amount of 6652 μg/ml, 0.21 μg/ml, 424 μg/ml, 7393 μg/ml and 741 μg/ml respectively. At last, they suggested in their study that Spirulina is a good source of carotenoids as a pro-vitamin A in organisms. ...
Background: Spirulina is a multicellular, filamentous cyanobacterium, belonging to the Phormidiaceae family which appears as blue-green filaments composed of cylindrical cells arranged in unbranched helicoidal trichomes. It contains a wide spectrum of nutrients that include proteins with all essential amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, pigments, carotenoids and super antioxidants apart from trace elements. Methods: The aim of the present study is to optimize the growth of cyanobacterium i.e., Spirulina platensis in selected media such as Zarrouk’s modified medium, Zarrouk’s medium, BG11 medium and F-2 medium. The growth analyses were recognized after 30 days. The temperature was maintained at 30±2°C under 12:12 hour light-dark cycles, light illuminated (4500 lux). Result: The maximum biomass of 0.641 gm/ml was achieved in Zarrouk’s modified medium. The inoculation of S. platensis in the F-2 medium showed the least growth of alga. The maximum concentration of phycocyanin content (0.19 mg/ml) and total carotenoid contents (5.99 µg/ml) were observed in Zarrouk’s modified medium followed by Zarrouk’s medium (0.12 mg/ml and 5.51 µg/ml) and minimum amounts were observed in F-2 medium (0.08 mg/ml and 3.08 µg/ml). According to the results, this study concluded that the growth and biomass of Spirulina with significant cell count and higher pigment proteins can be enhanced by using the naturally modified medium.
... A. platensis algae is of particular importance in the food industry (Beheshtipour et al., 2012(Beheshtipour et al., , 2013Hoseini et al., 2013a;Massoud et al., 2015;Mazinani et al., 2016), medical sector (anti-inflammatory and anticancer with several kidney and liver protective properties; Hoseini et al., 2013b;Soheili et al., 2011), and aquaculture industry because of its digestibility and high nutritional value (50-70% w/w protein) and also having essential amino acids, vitamins, mineral elements, and essential fatty acids (Fernández-Rojas et al., 2014). A. platensis produces high amounts of phycobili proteins (Antelo et al., 2008) and significant amounts of natural pigments chlorophyll, carotenoid, and phycocyanin (Banayan et al., 2020;Ghaeni et al., 2014;Santiago-Morales et al., 2018). ...
Introduction: Recently, Spirulina platensis has scientifically become popular because of its importance as food, feed, and a natural producer of pigments with specific nutritional and functional characteristics. Materials and Methods: In this study, the effect of various environmental factors affecting growth conditions of Spirulina platensis, including primary inoculation, light-dark cycle, cultivation time, Light-Emitting Diode (LED) composition, nitrogen source, carbon source, and NaCl concentration, on biomass, C-phycocyanin (C-PC), Allophycocyanin (APC) and chlorophyll-a contents were assessed using Placket-Burman Design (PBD). Results: Results showed that out of the seven screened factors, four factors of carbon source, LED composition, light-dark cycle and NaCl concentration significantly affected biomass production (p<0.01). Among the investigated factors, nitrogen source, light-dark cycle, and NaCl concentration had significant effects on phycocyanin production (p<0.05). Results showed that cultivation time, light-dark cycle, and NaCl concentration significantly affected the production of allophycocyanin (p<0.05). Furthermore, NaCl concentration, carbon source, LED composition, cultivation time, and initial inoculation included significant effects on chlorophyll-a production (p<0.05). Conclusions: The present study screened variables affecting biomass, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, and chlorophyll-a production as the first step in optimizing Spirulina platensis growth condition. Briefly, NaCl concentration was one of the factors which had a significant impact on all responses. The dark cycle also had an effect on three dependent variables except for chlorophyll-a production.
... Furthermore, Dunaliella was also reported to contain another carotenoid called zeaxanthin, a valuable antioxidant that prevent and treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) that lead to loss of vision [12]. Additionally to β -carotene, it was reported that astaxanthin, lycopene, zeaxanthin, lutein, actaxanthin and cryptoxanthin carotenoids occur in the blue green microalga Spirulina platensis and contribute to its antioxidant properties [13,14]. Spirulina extracts containing various carotenoid compounds and tocopherols were also found to have chemopreventive effect [14]. ...
... It has nutraceutical benefits, as it is a source of rich nutritional compounds, such as proteins, essential amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, nicotinate, biotin, folic acid, minerals, phenolics, pigments (chlorophyll, carotenoids, c-phycocyanin, and phycobilins), polyunsaturated fatty acids and pantothenic acid (Shao et al., 2019;Mohy El-Din, 2020). Its valuable products set Spirulina as the most cultivated microalga worldwide (Ghaeni et al., 2015;Matos et al., 2017;Shao et al., 2019). These compounds increase their biological function and commercial uses (Chandi & Gill, 2011;Rizzo et al., 2015;Dubini & Antal, 2015). ...
SPIRULINA has drawn attention throughout the last decades. It is an essential source of valuable products, such as proteins, phycobilins, carotenoids, phenolics, and unsaturated fatty acids. These products had been used in medicine, pharmaceutical, and agriculture. In this study, the effect of different growth media on Spirulina platensis was studied after the cultivation at optimum growth conditions; continuous light intensity (60μmol photons m-2s-1), temperature (25±3ºC), and pH (9.0 ± 0.2). The growth was estimated through 42 days by optical density (OD), cell counting (CC), and chlorophyll contents. The results showed that Kuhl’s medium was the optimum for S. platensis with the highest results, i.e.: (OD), (CC) and Chlorophyll content increased 11.57 times, 19.55 times, and 22.66 times of the initial record, respectively. KNO3 showed the best nitrogen source for S. platensis, where the different parameters of growth elevated to 3.56 times OD, 7.33 times CC, and 1.91 total chlorophyll more than their corresponding control.
... Microalgae represent sources with the most potency for natural astaxanthin production as it can produce a large quantity of astaxanthin [9]. Spirulina platensis is one of the beneficial microalgae in food biotechnology as it includes macro and micronutrients with the potency of synthesizing astaxanthin [10]. Moreover, discovery of astaxanthin in Coelastrum sp. can provide an alternative natural source of astaxanthin. ...
Background and Objective: Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid pigment known as one of the most valuable compounds with great potentials in the market. It has widely been used in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries due to its strong antioxidant activity. Green microalgae seem as promising natural sources in production of astaxanthin. The aim of this study was to optimize astaxanthin production in Coelastrum sp. to overcome low productivity of microalgae.
Materials and Methods: This study was carried out using experimentally statistical technique and Taguchi method to find optimum conditions for maximizing production of astaxanthin in green microalgae, Coelastrum sp. Effects of nutritional (carbon and nitrogen) and environmental (light and salinity) factors on biomass and astaxanthin production were investigated. Experiments were carried out for light intensity (250-550 µmol photons m-2 s-1), salinity using sodium chloride (1.0-3.0 g l-1), carbon source using sodium acetate
(0.5-2.0 g l-1) and nitrogen source using sodium nitrate (0.1-0.3 g l-1).
Results and Conclusion: Results showed that optimum conditions of astaxanthin production in Coelastrum sp. included 250 µmol photons m-2 s-1 of light intensity, 3 g l-1 salinity, 0.5 g l-1 carbon and 0.1 g l-1 nitrogen with a maximum yield of astaxanthin (14.44 mg l-1), which was 2-fold higher than that before optimization. This optimization resulted in high quantities of astaxanthin production using optimization of conditions that affected production yields of astaxanthin from Coelastrum sp.
... A. platensis is a fresh-water cyanobacterium that has several biological activities and a great nutritional value, because it contains high levels of proteins (more than 60% on dry basis), essentials amino acids, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals, polyphenols, carotenoids and chlorophyll [1]. Due to the presence of the pigment C-phycocyanin, the color of A. platensis is green-blue [2]. ...
Arthrospira platensis, commercially known as Spirulina, is a fresh-water cyanobacterium that has been gaining increasing attention in recent years due to its high biological and nutritional value. For this reason, it has been employed in several food applications, to obtain or enhance functional and technological properties of cheese, yogurt, bread, cookies or pasta. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential boosting effect of two di�erent concentrations (0.25% and 0.50% w/v) of A. platensis on the fermentation capability of several starter lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, 1 probiotic and 4 commercial mix culture. These strains were used to ferment three different substrates and their fermentation behaviors were evaluated by impedance analyses together with rheological and color measurements. In tryptic soy broth (TSB), the A. platensis boosting effect was significantly higher if compared to yeast extract for all the starter LAB strains except for Lb. casei, which was equally stimulated. Different results were found when the same LAB strains were cultivated in SSM. The most evident boosting effect was found for S. thermophilus and Lb. casei. LAB growth was promoted by A. platensis, confirming that it could be a useful tool in the production of novel functional fermented dairy foods. The potential boosting effect was evaluated on four commercial mix cultures used to produce milk and soy fermented beverages. It was demonstrated that the booster effect took place, but it was variable and dependent not only on the mix culture used, but also on the substrate and A. platensis concentration. Also, rheological and color modifications were found to be dependent on these factors.
... 12 It has become an interesting subject for many investigations conducted either in vitro and/ or in vivo since it is a valuable food source of antioxidants with high-quality proteins, amino acids, vitamins (A, B 1 , B 2 , B 3 , B 6 , C, E, and K and folate), beta-carotene and other pigments, phenolic acids, minerals (magnesium, zinc, manganese, and selenium) as well as macro-and micronutrients, including unsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, and carbohydrates. 12,13 Other findings showed that it is nontoxic, inexpensive, almost without side effects compared to synthetic products, 14 and it is used as a bioactive feed additive. 15 Due to its antioxidant properties, spirulina has been shown to have protective effects against drugs or chemicals-induced cardiotoxicity, hepatoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. ...
The current study was aimed at exploring the protective efficacy of spirulina against the hemato-biochemical alterations and nephrotoxicity induced by lead (Pb). Female rats aged 12 weeks were treated for 4 weeks with Pb (0.344 g kg ⁻¹ bw) associated or not with spirulina (5.3 g kg ⁻¹ bw).
Renal damage induced by Pb was related to a severe anemia, increases of oxidative stress-related parameters (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) (+29%), protein carbonyl (PCO) (+66.3%), and advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) (+110%)), plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (+80%), creatinine and urea levels in plasma, and uric acid concentration in urine, as well as genotoxic changes (+89.3% and +60% for DNA and mRNA levels, respectively). Conversely, LDH and antioxidant enzyme activities in kidney were decreased, as well as the levels of plasma uric acid, and urinary creatinine and urea levels. Spirulina-supplemented rats exhibited normal peripheral blood and renal parameters and renal histology. It can be suggested that Arthrospira platensis alleviates damages induced by Pb, thanks to its high phenolic content and antioxidant capacity.
... The yellow body color is decided by xanthophores, which contain carotenoids (Kimler and Taylor, 2002), while black is determined by melanophores, which contain melanin (Bagnara and Matsumoto, 2007). A. platensis is rich in lutein, β-carotene, and astaxanthin, which are types of natural carotenoid sources (Ghaeni et al., 2014). Thus, A. platensis could be a pigmentation supplement for various fish species. ...
Spirulina, Arthrospira platensis, contains high levels of protein and lutein. To evaluate nutritional, pigmentation, and antioxidation effects of A. platensis, a total of 900 juvenile yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) were divided into 18 tanks (3 tanks/treatment, 50 fish/tank) and fed a diet supplemented with A. platensis for 50 days. A. platensis was used in quantities of 0, 57.6, 115.1, 172.7, 230.3, and 287.9 g kg⁻¹ for experimental diets to replace fishmeal protein at levels of 0 (AP0), 20% (AP20), 40% (AP40), 60% (AP60), 80% (AP80), and 100% (AP100). Results revealed that substituting up to 80% of fishmeal by A. platensis biomass did not have a negative effect on fish growth, feed utilization, or apparent digestibility. However, significantly lower growth rates were observed when 100% of the fishmeal was substituted (P < 0.05). A. platensis replacement groups led to an increase in skin yellowness and dose-dependent enrichments of total lutein in dorsal skin, abdominal skin, and liver tissues (P < 0.05). There were similar enhancements observed in glutathione concentrations and glutathione peroxidase activities in plasma and liver (P < 0.05). Analyses based on lutein concentration between abdominal skin and experimental diets revealed that the optimal substitution amount was 72.03% (207.4 g kg⁻¹ of A. platensis), which could ensure growth and pigmentation in yellow catfish.
... Spirulina has also been found to suppress high blood pressure in rats. A vasodilating property of rat aortic rings by Spirulina possibly dependent upon a cyclooxygenasedependent product of arachidonic acid and nitric oxide has been reported by Paredes-Carbajal et al. (1991) Cheng-Wu Z et al. (1992) did a preliminary study on the effect of polysaccharides and phycocyanin on peripheral blood and hematopoietic system of bone marrow in mice [25], [26]. Their studies showed that C-phycocyanin and polysaccharides from Spirulina had a high erythropoetin (EPO) activity [7]. ...
... Arthrospira, besides accumulating, like all cyanobacteria, glycogen as primary energy and carbon reserve, contains high levels of proteins (up to 70% dry mass) of high value due to the presence of all the essential amino acids (Becker 2007). Arthrospira also contains high levels of vitamins, minerals (particularly iron), essential fatty acids (particularly γ-linolenic acid), carotenoids and chlorophyll (Ghaeni et al. 2014), and a number of unexplored bioactive compounds (Kulshreshtha et al. 2008;Tredici et al. 2009;Chacón-Lee and González-Mariño 2010;Soheili and Khosravi-Darani 2011). Arthrospira has potent antioxidant activity due to the presence of polyphenols and phycocyanin (Liu et al. 2011) and also shows interesting lipid-lowering effects (Colla et al. 2008;Bigagli et al. 2017). ...
The first objective of this study was to evaluate the use of lyophilised biomass of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis F&M-C256 as the sole substrate for lactic acid fermentation by the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014. After 48 h of fermentation, the bacterial concentration was 10.6 log CFU mL⁻¹ and lactic acid concentration reached 3.7 g L⁻¹. Lyophilised A. platensis F&M-C256 biomass was shown to be a suitable substrate for L. plantarum ATCC 8014 growth. The second objective of the study was to investigate whether lactic acid fermentation could enhance in vitro digestibility and antioxidant activity of A. platensis biomass. Digestibility increased by 4.4%, however it was not statistically significant, while the antioxidant activity and total phenolic content did increase significantly after fermentation, by 79% and 320% respectively. This study highlights the potential of A. platensis F&M-C256 biomass as a substrate for the production of probiotic-based products.
... Microalgae are microscopic unicellular autotrophic microorganisms that are cultivated in open raceway pond systems or closed photobioreactor systems for large-scale production (Harun et al. 2010). They are a source of bioactive compounds used for commercial applications, including pigments such as chlorophyll (Ghaeni et al. 2015). ...
Chlorophyll is a commercially important natural green pigment responsible for the absorption of light energy and its conversion into chemical energy via photosynthesis in plants and algae. This bioactive compound is widely used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Chlorophyll has been consumed for health benefits as a nutraceutical agent with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and antimicrobial properties. Microalgae are photosynthesizing microorganisms which can be extracted for several high-value bioproducts in the biotechnology industry. These microorganisms are highly efficient at adapting to physicochemical variations in the local environment. This allows optimization of culture conditions for inducing microalgal growth and biomass production as well as for changing their biochemical composition. The modulation of microalgal culture under controlled conditions has been proposed to maximize chlorophyll accumulation. Strategies reported in the literature to promote the chlorophyll content in microalgae include variation in light intensity, culture agitation, and changes in temperature and nutrient availability. These factors affect chlorophyll concentration in a species-specific manner; therefore, optimization of culture conditions has become an essential requirement. This paper provides an overview of the current knowledge on the effects of key environmental factors on microalgal chlorophyll accumulation, focusing on small-scale laboratory experiments.
... Early studies showed that the blue pigment in Spirulina spp. such as phycocyanin and carotenoids such as beta carotene, astaxanthin, luteine, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin can affect the body colour of various animals upon food consumption (Liao et al., 1993;Boonyaratpalin and Unprasert, 1989;Belay et al., 1996;Saleha et al., 2011;Vasudhevan and James, 2011;Ghaeni et al., 2014). In addition, the level of Spirulina sp. ...
... Among all phototrophic species, cyanobacteria deserve special attention due to the impressive wealth of valued products created by them, inter alia pigments like carotenoids or chlorophylls generally found in all phototrophic organisms. More importantly, the phycobilins phycoerythrin and phycocyanin are typical secondary pigments produced by cyanobacteria responsible for the characteristic intense coloration of these organisms; they display high market potential for food technology, cosmetics, or for chemical tags in immunofluorescence techniques [2,4]. Further, the essential prostaglandin precursor γ-linolenic acid is biosynthesized by the cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp. ...
BACKGROUND: The article summarizes the present state of knowledge (status quo) for cyanobacterial polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production by wild type and genetically engineered strains.
METHODS: The work elucidates particularities of the enzymatic background, and presents viable approaches to enhance productivity and quality of cyanobacterial PHA by implementing sophisticated feeding- and cultivation strategies.
CONCLUSION: The needed route of march (quo vadis?) to turn cyanobacteria into potential cellular factories for large-scale PHA production is discussed. This encompasses enhanced engineering and process design, advanced photobioreactor developments, new cultivations regimes, efficient and sustainable downstream processing, and improvements on the genetic level. Finally, the selection of inexpensive reduced carbon substrates to be applied in mixotrophic cultivation processes provides for reduced production costs and, at the same time, allows to produce PHA copolyesters with enhanced material properties.
The study analyzed the impact of different diets on the gonadal development of sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina . Kelp ( Laminaria japonica ), corn ( Zea mays ), carrots ( Daucus carota ), and sweet potatoes ( Ipomaea batatas ) were used to continuously feed adults of H. crassispina for 50 days. Results indicated that sea urchins fed with kelp had the highest weight gain rate ( p < 0.05), followed by those fed with sweet potato, no significant difference in weight gain rate was observed between other diets and no feeding groups ( p > 0.05). H. crassispin fed with corn had a significantly enhancing GSI (gonadsomatic index) ( p < 0.05), followed by those fed kelp, and no significant difference between the other diet groups, but their weight gain rate was higher than that of the no feeding group ( p > 0.05). While there was no significant difference in shell diameter and height in any diets ( p > 0.05). Sweet potatoes and corn significantly improved the redness (a ∗ ) and yellowness (b ∗ ) of the gonads ( p < 0.05). Kelp group and corn group had excellent performance in amino acid composition, containing higher levels of umami and sweet amino acids than other groups ( p < 0.05). Fatty acid analysis showed higher contents of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), arachidonic acid (ARA), linolenic acid, and linoleic acid in kelp and corn group. The types of diets significantly affected the microbial diversity of the digestive tract, with kelp enhancing microbial community diversity, and diets of corn and sweet potatoes increasing the abundance of Lactococcus . In conclusion, kelp was an excellent feed for H. crassispina , and corn as a preferred alternative diet not only improved the GSI but also optimized the gonad color and increased the content of amino acids and fatty acids.
In the last decade, algae applications have generated considerable interest among research organizations and industrial sectors. Bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids, and Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) derived from microalgae may play a vital role in the bio and non-bio sectors. Currently, commercial sunscreens contain chemicals such as oxybenzone and octinoxate, which have harmful effects on the environment and human health; while microalgae-based sunscreens emerge as an eco-friendly alternative to provide photo protector agents against solar radiation. Algae-based exploration ranges from staple foods to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and biomedical applications. This review aims to identify the effects of UV and UV-vis irradiation on the production of microalgae bioactive compounds through the assistance of different techniques and extraction methods for biomass characterization. The efficiency and results focus on the production of a blocking agent that does not damage the aquifer, being beneficial for health and possible biomedical applications.
Co-deprivation of some photosynthetic electron transport mineral pairs is sought for enhancing antioxidant accumulation in a local isolate of Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis, to improve their nutritional value and economic feasibility. The omitted element pairs were iron and sulfur (‑FeS), manganese and iron (‑MnFe) and nitrogen and sulfur (‑NS); chosen on the basis of their strong mediation in redox activities (Fe, Mn or S) or as sinks (N or S) of photosynthetic electrons.
Antioxidant contents were estimated in 15 days old cells as growth of Arthrospira was not deteriorated by depriving the studied mineral pairs on the one hand and older cells tend to accumulate secondary compounds than younger ones whose bioenergetics are diverted into vegetative growth on the other hand. Iron‑sulfur, followed by iron‑manganese deprivation, induced the highest rates of photosynthtic oxygen evolution and respiratory oxygen uptake. Nitrogen‑sulfur starved cells, however, seem just survived as the increment of their dry mass relative to the inoculum was insignificant; they exhibited the lowest rates of photosynthesis with significantly enhanced respiration.
A positive correlation between dry mass allocation and antioxidant accumulation can be deduced in the following order: ‑FeS > ‑FeMn > ‑NS. Vitamins A and tocopherols exhibited significant rise per unit dry mass (about fourfold that of the control) at ‑FeS while total antioxidants, reducing power and phenolics were more than doubled. FeMn pair deprivation sustained growth but did not enhance the accumulation of the targeted antioxidants. Under NS deprivation, neither Vitamin A nor tocopherols was enhanced although total antioxidants, reducing power and total phenolics were significantly higher than in control cultures.
Soluble carbohydrates and free amino acids did not exhibit significant alterations in response to the imposed deprivations, indicating that enhancing the antioxidant accumulation did not take place at the expense of growth or primary metabolism in Arthrospira.
Cyanobacteria, a versatile group of phototrophic prokaryotes, have attracted increasing attention as free or immobilized whole-cell biocatalysts for the light-driven formation of valuable products such as therapeutic or antimicrobial bioactive compounds, single-cell proteins, phycobilins, biopolyesters, thermostable enzymes, lipids, and polysaccharides. Genetic engineering of these organisms also encompasses candidates for the production of biohydrogen, bioethanol, biobutanol, and ethylene; that is, both established and emerging biofuels and synthons. Importantly, the formation of these products by cyanobacteria is coupled to the sequestration of CO2, a major greenhouse gas, thereby combining amelioration of ecological pressure with value addition. Furthermore, various cyanobacteria are powerful bioremediators, and can remove phosphate or ammonia from aquatic environments. Moreover, many diazotropic cyanobacteria can assimilate molecular nitrogen and act as “green fertilizers.” Most data regarding cyanobacterial product formation originate from bench-scale laboratory testing. To optimize cyanobacterial cultivation, it is necessary to consider the photobioreactor (PBR) setup, in terms of light supply, geometric characteristics, gassing/degassing, and mixing behavior. The optimal PBR setup may vary, depending on the nutritional and illumination requirements of the production strain, and on the target products. This chapter provides an overview of discontinuous, semi-continuous, and continuous indoor and outdoor PBR systems for the production of value-added products by cyanobacteria. The importance is stressed of combining microbiological and genetic knowledge with advanced engineering and in silico modeling to design high-throughput biorefinery systems for the light-driven conversion of CO2into products for food, feed, bulk, and niche applications, and for the generation of renewable energy carriers.
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