Production of phycobiliproteins by Arthrospira platensis under different lightconditions for application in food products

Abstract

There has been an increase in investment in research on new sources of natural pigments for food application. Some cyanobacteria can change the structures responsible for light harvesting and cellular processes according to the wavelength and light intensity. This phenomenon has been described as complementary chromatic adaptation. The present study aimed to investigate the growth of Arthrospira platensis using different light qualities, irradiance, and wavelength by evaluating the production of biomass, proteins, and phycobiliproteins. The occurrence of the chromatic adaptation phenomenon in this cyanobacterium was also investigated. The microorganism used in this study, A. platensis, was grown in a Zarrouk medium under three irradiance levels, 50, 100, and 150 μmol fotons.m ). There was no difference in the production of total protein and total phycobiliproteins under the studied conditions. It is likely that the large supply of nitrogen in the Zarrouk medium was sufficient for cell growth and maintenance, and it supplied the production of accessory pigments composed of protein. Finally, there was no evidence of the complementary chromatic adaptation phenomenon in A. platensis cultivated under green light. Moreover, this condition did not increase phycocyanin production.

Spirulina Phycobiliproteins as Food Components and Complements

“…The presence of the third phycobiliprotein, red phycoerythrin, in Arthrospira platensis is the subject of debate. While some studies have found that Spirulina produces small amounts of phycoerythrin, the other ones did not detect phycoerythrin in Spirulina [9].…”

A review on Spirulina: alternative media for cultivation and nutritive value as an aquafeed

“…Intense white light was found to promote higher biomass production, higher accumulation of phycobiliproteins that function in light harvesting during photosynthesis, and a higher growth rate when compared with green light (Rizzo et al . 2015). It was also discovered that the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can oxidize cell membrane.…”

Production of bioactive proteins and peptides from the diatom Nitzschia laevis and comparison of their in vitro antioxidant activities with those from Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris

“…Each of the microalgae chosen in this study has a distinctive group of protein–pigment complex. Spirulina has phycobiliproteins (Rizzo et al ., ), Nitzschia has carotenoids (fucoxanthin and lutein), and Chlorella has chlorophylls and some carotenoids (Gouveia et al ., ; Singh et al ., ). Figure shows ORAC values of the proteins from the three different microalgae and their hydrolysed products using the three protease enzymes after different times of hydrolysis.…”