Nutritional quality of the blue‐green alga <i>Spirulina platensis</i> geitler

Aims: To determine the susceptibility of cyanophycin granule polypeptide (CGP) to degradation by several mammalian, avian and fish gut flora. Methods and Results: Samples of gut flora were investigated for the occurrence of bacteria capable of CGP degradation. With all samples, a complete anaerobic degradation of CGP was achieved over incubation periods of only 12–48 h at 37°C. CGP‐degrading bacteria were detected in all samples, and they occurred in particular high titres in caecum flora from rabbit and sheep and in the digestive tract of carp fish. A total of 62 axenic cultures were isolated. All degraded CGP aerobically, 46 of them degraded CGP also anaerobically over incubation periods ranging from 24 h to 7 days. HPLC analysis revealed that all isolates degraded CGP to its constituting dipeptides. Eight strains were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and were affiliated to the genera Bacillus, Brevibacillus, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces and Micromonospora. Conclusions: These data demonstrate for the first time the occurrence of a natural niche for CGP in the digestive tracts of animals. Significance and Impact of the Study: The biodegradability of CGP by gut flora provides a first confirmation for the potential applications of CGP and its dipeptides in nutrition and therapy as highly bio‐available sources for arginine, lysine, aspartate and possibly also other amino acids.

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“…Spirulina has a protein content of over 60% (Narasimha et al. 1982) and is consumed for centuries as food additive in many countries until today.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyanophycin-degrading bacteria in digestive tracts of mammals, birds and fish and consequences for possible applications of cyanophycin and its dipeptides in nutrition and therapy

Sallam

Steinbüchel

2009

Journal of Applied Microbiology

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“…In other words, 63% of the C uptake by plants is protein-derived from the algae source. Therefore, considering (i) the dominant amino acids in Spirulina (Narasimha et al 1982;Campanella et al 1999), (ii) the C:N ratio of 3.8 for the crude protein fraction in the algae, and (iii) CO 2 losses by decomposition, we assumed that the average C:N ratio of algae-derived amino acids ranged between 3 and 5. The significance of differences in 13 C and 15 N uptake as well as C and N contents between plant species was examined using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).…”

Section: Sampling and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significance of organic nitrogen acquisition for dominant plant species in an alpine meadow on the Tibet plateau, China

Ouyang

Kuzyakov

et al. 2006

Plant Soil

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Though the potential of plants to take up organic N (e.g., amino acids) is well established, the true significance of organic N acquisition to plant N nutrition has not yet been quantified under field conditions. Here we demonstrate that organic N contributes significantly to the annual N uptake of three dominant plant species (Kobresia humilis, Saussurea superba and Stipa aliena) of alpine meadows on the Tibet Plateau, China. This was achieved by using double-labelled ( 14 C and 15 N) algae as a source for slow and continuous release of amino acids, and tracing both labels in the above-and belowground plant biomass. Four months after addition of algae, between 0.5% and 2.6% of 14 C and 5% and 14% of 15 N from added algae were recovered in the plants, which translate into an uptake of organic N between 0.3 mg N m )2 and 1.5 mg N m )2 . The calculated contribution of organic N to total N uptake was estimated to range between 21% and 35% for K. humilis, and between 13% and 21% for S. aliena and S. superba, respectively, implying that organic N uptake by grassland plants is quantitatively significant under field conditions in the studied alpine meadows. This finding has important ecological implications with regard to competition for organic N between microorganisms and plant roots.

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“…[1][2][3]. This alga is protein rich (up to 70% protein by dry weight), contains essential amino acids [4], is easily digestible and is much larger than unicellular alga which simplifies harvesting [5]. The low content of cholesterol and lipids [6,7] and the presence of minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, sterols [1] and blue pigments, the phycocianins, which contribute to increase the protein and iron availability [8] have been also proven.…”

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confidence: 99%

Chemical composition and nutritional evaluation of some natural and commercial food products based on Spirulina

1999

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Blue-green algae have been attracting the most attention as potential, indeed actual, sources of proteins and other human and natural nutrients (fatty acids, macro-and trace minerals). Among these algae, the filamentous cyanobacterium Spirulina appears to be a ubiquitous component of the phytoplankton growing in ocean and seawaters (from tropical lagoons to Arctic waters, thermal springs, alcaline lakes etc.) [1][2][3]. This alga is protein rich (up to 70% protein by dry weight), contains essential amino acids [4], is easily digestible and is much larger than unicellular alga which simplifies harvesting [5]. The low content of cholesterol and lipids [6,7] and the presence of minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, sterols [1] and blue pigments, the phycocianins, which contribute to increase the protein and iron availability [8] have been also proven.Further, the presence of an anti-oxidizing agent as β-carotene and the rare γ-linolenic acids [9,10] However, Spirulina commercialized in the form of pills or tablets is recommended by suppliers mainly as a health food, a protein source, vitamin supplement, diet pill and as a treatment for anemia in humans. The commercialization of the alga biomass (processing, packaging and distribution) may introduce environmental pollution or variation of the chemical composition of the product. Cultivation techniques, developed to raise productivity levels so that the increasing demand for these products can be satisfied, may also change the chemical composition [17,3] and consequently the nutritional and toxicological properties of the final products. Furthermore, while chemical composition of algae has been the subject of increasing attention, seldom, have extensive chemical analysis of commercial products been performed.In this paper, the chemical composition of Spirulina platensis products of both a natural and a commercial Cuban origin and of four commercial (non-Cuban) products available on the Italian market, is reported. The level of macrominerals, trace elements, phycobiliproteins, free and total amino acids, fatty acids has been determined while a method is proposed for the extraction, recovery and determination of phycobiliproteins. The data are also compared with other commercial products based on Spirulina and some parameters are evaluated with reference to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) values. 533Chemical composition and nutritional evaluation of some natural and commercial food products based on Spirulina L. Campanella * , G. Crescentini † and P. AvinoDepartment of Chemistry, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy Abstract. A natural and a commercial Spirulina product of Cuban origin have been extensively studied together with four algal food products available on the Italian market. The contents of macrominerals, trace elements, free and total amino acids, fatty acids and of two important phycobiliproteins (C-phycocyanine and allophycocyanine) have been determined. The results are compared with th...

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Nutritional quality of the blue‐green alga Spirulina platensis geitler

Cited by 32 publications

References 16 publications

Cyanophycin-degrading bacteria in digestive tracts of mammals, birds and fish and consequences for possible applications of cyanophycin and its dipeptides in nutrition and therapy

Cyanophycin-degrading bacteria in digestive tracts of mammals, birds and fish and consequences for possible applications of cyanophycin and its dipeptides in nutrition and therapy

Significance of organic nitrogen acquisition for dominant plant species in an alpine meadow on the Tibet plateau, China

Chemical composition and nutritional evaluation of some natural and commercial food products based on Spirulina

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