Spirulina maxima as a valuable ingredient: Determination of broad fatty acid and amino acid profiles and nutritional quality and anti-amylase capacity
Zahra Tavakoli, Gholamreza Kavoosi, Roghayeh Siahbalaei, Javad Karimi
Abstract
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.