Eco-Friendly Extraction to Enhance Antioxidants and Nutritional Value in Arthrospira platensis

Imagine a tiny blue-green algae that feeds the world—18,000 tons of it every year. Now, scientists have found a greener way to unlock its hidden powers.

Spirulina, the cyanobacterium known as a superfood, is already a global staple in dietary supplements. But extracting its most valuable bioactive compounds has always been a bottleneck. A new study offers a breakthrough: a gentle, eco-friendly extraction method that boosts both antioxidant power and nutritional value.

The approach pairs a cold maceration step in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The ultrasound pulses—short bursts at 400 W and 30 kHz—help break cell walls without harsh chemicals. The result? Significant yield increases for lipids, fatty acids, and key pigments like phycocyanin's cousins, allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin.

Compared to untreated Spirulina, the method delivered impressive gains: total lipids up 20.29%, fatty acids up 60.48%, and carotenoids up 30.84%. Polyphenols jumped 65.99%, and antioxidant activity rose by 42.95%. Even so, not everything was fully recovered—proteins and carbohydrates lagged slightly, and phycocyanin recovery dipped a bit.

The study suggests this PBS-plus-UAE approach could save energy and costs while delivering high-value compounds. It's a promising step toward greener, more efficient production of dietary supplements—without compromising on quality.

Key Points

• PBS and ultrasound extraction boost Spirulina's antioxidants by 42.95%.
• Lipids, fatty acids, and polyphenols yields increase significantly.
• Green method saves energy, promising for supplement industry.