Metabolomic profile of Arthrospira platensis from a Bulgarian bioreactor—A potential opportunity for inclusion in dietary supplements
Open accessAbstract
The present study aims to elucidate the metabolomic profile of Arthrospira platensis grown in a bioreactor in Bulgaria. The results show that Arthrospira platensis has a high content of mannose, 137.02 mg g−1, and vitamin A (retinol)—10.3 μg/100 g. High concentrations of calcium, sulfur, and zinc distinguish its elemental composition. The freeze-dried powder contained 15.81 ± 0.45% dietary fiber, 50.16 ± 0.25% total protein content, and 1.22 ± 0.11% total fat content. Among the unsaturated fatty acids with the highest content is α-linolenic acid (25.28%), while among the saturated fatty acids, palmitic acid prevails (22.55%). Of the sterols in the sample, β-sitosterol predominated. There is no presence of microcystins LR, RR, YR, and nodularin. Therefore, Arthrospira platensis grown in a Bulgarian bioreactor is safe for use in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Many of the organic compounds found have applications in medicine and pharmacology and play an important role in biochemical processes in the body. Therefore, Arthrospira platensis grown in Bulgaria has a high potential for use as an independent food supplement or in combination with other natural products.
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A. platensis has highly digestible proteins with elevated biological value (460-630 g/kg of dry biomass), including essential amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine, valine, tryptophan, and methionine.
“Among these, A. platensis stands out for its highly digestible proteins with elevated biological value (460–630 g/kg of dry biomass), including essential amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine, valine, tryptophan, and methionine (Nikolova et al., 2024; Sinetova et al., 2024).”
From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Nikolova et al., 2024
The Results and Discussion section says A. platensis has easily digestible proteins of high biological value and lists all five amino acids named in the claim. It reports 50.16% protein in the lyophilized powder (about 502 g/kg dry weight), but does not establish the claimed 460–630 g/kg range. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Nikolova, K., Gentscheva, G., Gyurova, D., Pavlova, V., Dincheva, I., Velikova, M., Gerasimova, A., Makedonski, L., & Gergov, G.
- Affiliations
- Medical University of Varna (BG)
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BG)
- National Center of Public Health and Analyses (BG)
- Department of Analytical and Laboratory Activities, National Center of Public Health and Analyses—Sofia, 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria
- Agrobioinstitute (BG)
- Corresponding author
- Nikolova, Krastena
- Gentscheva, Galia
- ORCID
- Venue
- Life
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-01-24
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 174
- ISSN
- 2075-1729 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10890032
- OpenAlex
- W4391169222
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 2.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Life (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- European Union—NextGenerationEU—through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria (BG-RRP-2.004-0009-C02)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food and Agricultural Sciences
- Keywords
- Spirulina platensis, Spirulina, metabolite profiles, bioreactor cultivation, dietary supplements, fatty acid composition, alpha-linolenic acid, sterols, β-sitosterol, microcystins, elemental composition, vitamin A, mannose, food safety
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