Spirulina

In California, Spirulina sp. grown in paddle-wheel-agitated open ponds with CO2 is harvested through stainless steel screens, with recycling of the nutrient-rich water to the ponds. The wet Spirulina is spray-dried at 60°C for a few seconds to yield a food-grade product (47). 

At Lake Texcoco, Mexico, bicarbonate is available in the alkaline waters from soda ash [497-19-8] (sodium carbonate) deposits (see Alkali and CHLORINE products). This supply of carbon is adequate for growing Spirulina maxima which tolerates alkaline pH values in the range 9—11 (37,38). Combustion gases have been used to grow this organism, but this carbon source is not available in many regions (49). 

Amino acid Chlorella sp. Scenedesmus sp. Spirulina sp. FAO reference pattern... 

The aim is to produce biomass or a mass of cells such as microbes, yeast and fungi. The commercial production of biomass has been seen in the production of baker s yeast, which is used in the baking industry. Production of single cell protein (SCP) is used as biomass enriched in protein.6 An algae called Spirulina has been used for animal food in some countries. SCP is used as a food source from renewable sources such as whey, cellulose, starch, molasses and a wide range of plant waste. 

The red microalga Porphyridium aerugineum is a source of blue color. This species is different from other red microalgae in that it lacks red phycoerythrin and its phycocyanin is C-phycocyanin rather than the R-phycocyanin that accompanies phycoerythrin found in many red algae and in other Porphyridium species. However, the biochemicals produced by P. aerugineum are similar to those of other red microalgae, e.g., sulfated polysaccharides, carotenoids, and lipids. An alternative source of C-phycocyanin is Spirulina platensis. ... 

Bermejo, R. et ah. Expanded bed adsorption chromatography for recovery of phyco-cyanins from the microalga Spirulina platensis, Chromatographia, 63, 59, 2006. Thieghem, (van) R, Monascus, genre nouveau de I ordre des ascomycfetes. Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 31, 226, 1884. 

To evalnate whether some foods contain true vitamin B,2 or inactive vitamin B,2 analogs, some vitamin B[2 compoimds were purified and characterized using silica gel 60 TLC [11-15]. An algal health food, spirulina tablets, contained considerable amounts of a vitamin Bjj analog (pseudovitamin Bjj) inactive for humans (Figure 10.6) [11]. 

FIGURE 10.6 Silica gel 60 TLC pattern of the purified spirulina B12 analogs. Each final preparation (2 pi) was spotted on the silica gel 60 TLC sheet and developed with 2-pro-panol/NH OH (28%)/water (7 1 2, v/v) at room temperature in the dark. 

Rakhimberdieva, M. G., V. A. Boichenko, N. V. Karapetyan, and I. N. Stadnichuk (2001). Interaction of phy-cobilisomes with photosystem B dimers and photosystem I monomers and trimers in the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. Biochemistry 40(51) 15780-15788. 

AKHILENDER NADU, M., VISWANATHA, S., NARASINKA MURTHY, K., ravishankar, g. A. and srinivar, l. Toxicity assessment of phycocyanin, a blue colorant from blue green algae, Spirulina platensis, Food Biotechnol., 1999, 13, 51-6. 

Fig. 2.30. Total ion current chromatogram of alga Spirulina Platensis algae sample by LC-TurbolSP-MS and positive-ion mass spectra of the carotenoids identified 1 = zeaxanthin 2 = /Tcryptoxanthin 3 = /1-carotene. Reprinted with permission from M. Careri et al. [69].

Figure 19 X-Ray structure of the active site of the 2Fe ferredoxin of Spirulina platensis...

Biotransformation of or-Bromo and a,a -Dibromo Alkanone into or-Hydroxyketone and ar-Diketone by Spirulina platensis... 

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