SPIRULINA (POWDER)
Listing description
Spirulina represents a biomass of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that can be consumed
by humans and other animals. There are two species, Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima.
Detailed description
Arthrospira is cultivated worldwide; used as a dietary supplement as well as a whole food; and is also available in tablet, flake and powder
form. It is also used as a feed supplement in
the aquaculture, aquarium and poultry industries.
Nutrient and vitamin content
Protein
Dried spirulina contains about 60% (51–71%) protein.[2][3] It is a complete protein containing all essential amino acids, with slightly lower amounts of methionine, cysteine, and lysine compared to certain
animal-derived products.[4] From a nutritional
point of view, spirulina is no better than other protein sources, but is more
expensive gram-for-gram and may have adverse interactions when taken with
prescribed drugs.[5]
Other nutrients
Provided in its typical supplement form as a dried
powder having 5% water (table), a 100 gram amount of spirulina supplies 290 Calories and is a source (20%
or more of the Daily Value, DV) of numerous
nutrients, particularly B vitamins (thiamin and riboflavin, 207% and 306% DV,
respectively) and dietary minerals, such as iron (219% DV) and manganese (90% DV) (table).
Spirulina's lipid content is 8% by weight (table)
providing gamma-linolenic acid,[6][7] alpha-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, stearidonic acid,[8] eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid,
and arachidonic acid.[9]
Vitamin B12 controversy
Spirulina does not contain vitamin B12 naturally (see
table), and spirulina supplements are not considered to be a reliable source of
vitamin B12, as they contain predominantly pseudovitamin B12,
which is biologically inactive in humans.[10][11] Companies that grow
and market spirulina have claimed it to be a significant source of B12 on the basis of alternative,
unpublished assays, although their claims are not accepted by independent scientific
organizations. The American Dietetic
Association and Dietitians of Canada in their position
paper on vegetarian diets state that
spirulina cannot be counted on as a reliable source of active vitamin B12.[11] The medical
literature similarly advises that spirulina is unsuitable as a source of B12.
Risks
Quality-related safety and toxicology
Spirulina is a form of cyanobacterium, some of which
are known to produce toxins such as microcystins, BMAA, and others. Some spirulina supplements have been found to be
contaminated with microcystins, albeit at levels below the limit set by the
Oregon Health Department.[13] Microcystins can
cause gastrointestinal disturbances and, in the long term, liver damage.[5] The effects of
chronic exposure to even very low levels of microcystins are of concern,
because of the potential risk of toxicity to several organ systems[5] and
possibly cancer.[13]
These toxic compounds are not produced by spirulina
itself,[14] but
may occur as a result of contamination of spirulina batches with other
toxin-producing blue-green algae. Because spirulina is considered a dietary supplement in the U.S., no
active, industry-wide regulation of its production occurs and no enforced
safety standards exist for its production or purity.[13] The U.S. National Institutes
of Health describes spirulina supplements as "possibly safe",
provided they are free of microcystin contamination, but "likely
unsafe" (especially for children) if contaminated.[5] Given the lack of
regulatory standards in the U.S., some public-health researchers have raised
the concern that consumers cannot be certain that spirulina and other
blue-green algae supplements are free of contamination.[13]
Heavy-metal contamination of spirulina supplements
has also raised concern. The Chinese State Food and Drug
Administration reported that lead, mercury, and arsenic contamination was
widespread in spirulina supplements marketed in China.[15] One study reported
the presence of lead up to 5.1 ppm in a
sample from a commercial supplement.[16]
Safety issues for certain target groups
Like all protein-rich foods, spirulina contains the
essential amino acid phenylalanine (2.6-4.1 g/100 g),[17] which should be
avoided by people who have phenylketonuria, a rare genetic disorder that
prevents the body from metabolizing phenylalanine, which then builds up in the
brain, causing damage.[18]
Spirulina contaminated with microcystins has
various potential toxicity, especially to children,[19] including liver
damage, shock and death.[5]
Animals and aquaculture
Various studies on spirulina as an alternative feed
for animal and aquaculture were done.[16] Spirulina can be fed
up to 10% for poultry [20] and less than 4% for
Quail.[21] Increase in the Spirulina content up to 40g/kg for 16 days in
21-day-old broiler male chicks, resulted in yellow and red coloration of flesh
and this may be due to the accumulation of the yellow pigment, zeaxanthin.[22] Pigs,[23]rabbits[24] and lambs[25] can receive up to
10% of the feed and increase in the Spirulina content in cattle resulted in increase
in milk yield and weight.[26][27][28] Spirulina as an
alternative feedstock and immune booster for big mouth buffalo,[26] milk fish,[29] cultured striped
jack,[30] carp,[31][32] red sea bream,[33] tilapia,[34] catfish,[35][36] yellow tail,[37] zebrafish,[38] shrimps[39][40] and abalone[41] was established[16] and up to 2% Spirulina per day in aquaculture feed can be
safely recommended.[16]
Toxicological studies of the effects of spirulina
consumption on humans and animals, including feeding as much as 800 mg/kg,[42] and replacing up to
60% of protein intake with Spirulina,[43] have shown no toxic
effects.[44] Fertility, teratogenicity, peri- and postnatal, and
multigenerational studies on animals also have found no adverse effects from Spirulina consumption.[45]
Etymology and ecology
The maxima and plaetensis species were once classified in the
genus Spirulina. The common name, Spirulina, refers to the dried biomass of Arthrospira platensis,[46] which
belongs to the oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria that cover the groups
Cyanobacteria and Prochlorales. These photosynthetic organisms, Cyanobacteria,
were first considered as algae until 1962 and for the first time, these blue
green algae were added to prokaryote kingdom and proposed to call these
microorganisms as Cyanobacteria [47] where algae is
considered to be a very large and diverse group of eukaryotic organisms. This
designation was accepted and published in 1974 by the Bergey's Manual of Determinative
Bacteriology.[48] Scientifically,
there is a quite distinction between Spirulina and Arthrospira genus. Stizenberger, in 1852 gave the
name Arthrospira based on the septa presence, helical
form and multicellular structure and Gomont in 1892, confirmed aseptate form of
the Spirulina genus. Geitler in 1932, reunified both members designating them
as Spirulina without considering the septum.[16] The worldwide
research on microalgae was carried out in the name of Spirulina, but the
original species exploited as food with excellent health properties belongs to
genus Arthrospira. This common difference between scientists and customers is
difficult to change.[48] These Arthrospira
genus, constitute a helical trichomes of varying size and with various degree
of coiling including tightly coiled morphology to even straight uncoiled form.
The filaments are solitary and reproduce by binary fission and the cells of the
trichomes vary from 2 μm to 12 μm and can sometime reach up to 16 μm. Species
of the genus Arthrospira have been isolated from alkaline brackish and saline
waters in tropical and subtropical regions. Among the various species included
in the genus Arthrospira, A. platensis is the most widely distributed and is
mainly found in Africa but also in Asia. Arthrospira maxima is believed to be
found in California and Mexico.[16] They are now agreed
to be in fact Arthrospira; nevertheless, and somewhat
confusingly, the older term Spirulina remains in use for historical reasons.[1][4]
Arthrospira species are
free-floating filamentous cyanobacteria characterized by cylindrical, multicellular trichomes in
an open left-hand helix. They occur naturally in tropical and subtropical lakes with
high pH and high
concentrations of carbonate and bicarbonate.[17] A. platensis occurs in Africa,
Asia, and South America, whereas A.
maxima is confined to Central
America.[1] Most cultivated
spirulina is produced in open channel raceway ponds, with paddle-wheels
used to agitate the water.[17] The largest
commercial producers of spirulina are located in the United States, Thailand, India, Taiwan, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), Greece, and Chile.[1]
Spirulina thrives at a pH around 8.5 and above,
which will get more alkaline, and a temperature around 30 °C (86 °F).
They are able to make their own food, and do not need a
living energy or organic carbon source. In addition, spirulina has to have an
ensemble of nutrients to thrive in a home aquarium or pond. A simple nutrient
feed for growing it is:
which can all be found in aquarium or else in the
agricultural division, all commonly occurring compounds except for the iron
sulphate. The algae has actually been tested and successfully grown in human
urine at 1:180 parts.[49] After 7days, 97% of
NH4+-N, 96.5% of total phosphorus (TP) and 85–98% of urea in the urine (about
120-diluted) were removed by the microalgae under autotrophic culture
(30 °C).
PRICE
$46.20/KG OR $21.00/IB
For more information:
mobile: +2348039721941
contact person: emeaba uche
e-mail: emeabau@yahoo.com
website: www.franchiseminerals.com
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