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Cited by 59Food and Agricultural SciencesConsumer Attitudes and Food LabelingSeaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds

Nutritional Quality and Safety of the Spirulina Dietary Supplements Sold on the Slovenian Market

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Masten Rutar, Jasmina, Jagodic Hudobivnik, Marta, Nečemer, Marijan, Vogel Mikuš, Katarina, Arčon, Iztok, Ogrinc, Nives·2022·Foods
DOI 10.3390/foods11060849PMC PMC8954120
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Abstract

The microalgae Spirulina may be a popular dietary supplement rich in essential nutrients and vitamins, but oversight of the supplement industry, in general, remains limited, and increasing incidents of adulteration, misbranding, and undeclared ingredients together with misleading claims create potential risks. In response, this study characterized the elemental, amino acid and fatty acid content of commercially available Spirulina supplements in Slovenia using EDXRF, ICP-MS and GC-MS and compared the results with their nutritional declaration. The gathered data confirm that Spirulina supplements are a good source of calcium (0.15 to 29.5% of RDA), phosphorous (3.36–26.7% of RDA), potassium (0.5 to 7.69% of RDA) and selenium (0.01 to 38.6% of RDA) when consumed within recommended amounts. However, although iron contents were relatively high (7.64 to 316% of RDA), the actual bioavailability of iron was much lower since it was mainly present as the ferric cation. This study also confirms that pure Spirulina supplements are a good source of essential and non-essential amino acids, and ω-6 but not ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The presence of additives resulted in significant variation in nutrient content and, in some instances, lower product quality. Moreover, a high proportion (86.7%) of inappropriate declarations regarding the elemental content was observed. Overall, the study conclusions underline the need for a stricter control system for Spirulina-based supplements.

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  • Spirulina powder contains essential amino acids in ranges: leucine 30-56, tryptophan 10-80, methionine 14-60, phenylalanine 26-38, lysine 30-60, threonine 15-33, isoleucine 30-40, histidine 10-15, and valine 30-45 mg g−1; and non-essential amino acids alanine 40-50, arginine 30-50, aspartic acid 15-60, cysteine 60-70, glutamic acid 60-90, glutamine 80, glycine 20-40, proline 20-30, serine 28-45, и

    “The essential amino acids are represented by (mg g−1) leucine (30–56), tryptophan (10–80), methionine (14–60), phenylalanine (26–38), lysine (30–60), threonine (15–33), isoleucine (30–40), histidine (10–15), and valine (30–45). Non-essential amino acids are alanine (40–50), arginine (30–50), aspartic acid (15–60), cysteine (60–70), glutamic acid (60–90), glutamine (80), glycine (20–40), proline (”

    From Spirulina/Arthrospira/Limnospira—Three Names of the Single Organism (2024) · cites this paper as [41]

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [14]Habib M.A.B. Parvin M. Huntington T.C. Hasan M.R. A Review on Culture, Production and Use of Spirulina as Food for Humans and Feeds for Domestic Animals and Fish Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, Italy 2008
  2. [30]Christie W.W. Han X. Lipid Analysis: Isolation, Separation, Identification and Lipidomic Analysis 4th ed. The Oily Press Cambridge, UK 2010 978-0-85709-786-6
  3. [31]Paniagua-Michel J. Chapter 16-Microalgal Nutraceuticals Handbook of Marine Microalgae Kim S.-K. Academic Press Boston, MA, USA 2015 255 267 978-0-12-800776-1
  4. [68]Desmorieux H. Hernandez F. Biochemical and Physical Criteria of Spirulina after Different Drying Processes Proceedings of the 14th International Drying Symposium Sao Paulo, Brazil 22–25 August 2004 Volume B 900 907

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Authors
Masten Rutar, J., Jagodic Hudobivnik, M., Nečemer, M., Vogel Mikuš, K., Arčon, I., & Ogrinc, N.
Affiliations
  • Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Jožef Stefan Institute (SI)
  • Department of Low and Medium Energy Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • University of Nova Gorica (SI)
Corresponding author
Ogrinc, Nives
ORCID
Venue
Foods
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2022-03-17
Volume
11
Issue
6
Pages
849
ISSN
2304-8158 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/foods11060849
PMC
PMC8954120
OpenAlex
W4220826639
Cited by
59
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 3
FWCI
6.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Foods (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Repository of the University of Ljubljana (University of Ljubljana) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Slovenian Research Agency (1000-17-0106; P1-0143; J4-1773)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food and Agricultural Sciences
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
Keywords
Spirulina, dietary supplements, supplement quality, nutrition labeling, misbranding, elemental composition, amino acids, fatty acids, iron bioavailability, selenium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, additives, food safety, Slovenia

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