Spirulina maxima as a valuable ingredient: Determination of broad fatty acid and amino acid profiles and nutritional quality and anti-amylase capacity

• Published in: Applied Food Research Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 100741
• Main Authors: Tavakoli, Zahra, Kavoosi, Gholamreza, Siahbalaei, Roghayeh, Karimi, Javad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2025; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amino acid; Amylase; Arthrospira maxima; Fatty acids; Nutritional quality; Nutritional quality; Amino acid; Arthrospira maxima; Amylase; Fatty acids
• ISSN: 2772-5022; 2772-5022
• DOI: 10.1016/j.afres.2025.100741

•Spirulina had a higher protein content followed by carbohydrates and lipids.•The major amino acids were alanine, glycine, glutamate, serine, and aspartate.•Spirulina protein had promising biological value and protein efficiency ratio.•The major fatty acids were α-linolenic, palmitic, linoleic, and γ-linolenic acid.•Spirulina had a promising nutritive value, atherogenicity, and thrombogenicity indices. This research studied Arthrospira (Spirulina) maxima for their approximate chemical composition, fatty acid composition, amino acid composition, protein nutritional quality, lipid nutritional quality, and anti-amylase capacity. The study on Arthrospira indicates a significantly high protein content of 45.50 %, along with 21 % carbohydrates, 17 % lipids, and 9.33 % ash content. The amino acid profile shows high levels of alanine (17.38 g), glycine (11.75 g), and glutamic acid (9.69 g) per 100 g protein. The protein quality is noteworthy, with significant amounts of protein efficiency ratio, and essential, non-essential, hydrophobic, ketogenic, branched-chain, flavor, and sulfur amino acids. Additionally, the study highlights a diverse fatty acid profile, including linolenic and palmitic acids, with a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (75.76 %) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (71.63 %). Given the lipid nutritional quality indices, Arthrospira had promising unsaturation, peroxidability health-promoting, omega-6/omega-3, hypocholesterolemic, nutritive value, atherogenicity, and thrombogenicity indices. Ultraviolet absorption, fluorescence quenching analysis, and Colorimetric assay revealed that protein and lipid hydrolysate interact with amylase and inhibit amylase activity. Therefore, Arthrospira can be considered a functional food with high nutritional quality and is imperative as an amylase inhibitor for diabetes management.