A panoramic study for the use of Spirulina biomass: from the bioactive compound's extraction to their encapsulation and application

Abstract

Spirulina microalgae, belonging to the group of filamentous cyanobacteria, is found naturally in lakes or alkaline lagoons and can be cultivated on a large scale under controlled environmental conditions. Notably, Spirulina is very explored in the literature due to its high nutritional value and the presence of bioactive compounds, particularly, natural pigments such as phycobiliproteins. Healthy eating habits have been a growing consumer demand, so a search for more natural foods with fewer additives has been exponential. In this perspective, natural pigments have been studied and pointed out as alternatives to artificial additives. C-phycocyanin (C-PC) is a natural blue phycobiliprotein that, in addition to its function as a pigment, has useful features with beneficial biologic effects, attracting commercial interest in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. However, there are several challenges concerning the use of natural pigments effectively in foods, due to their instability related with different conditions regarding the digestion physiology, in addition to the difficulties in front of the processing and storage of foods that applies C-PC as an ingredient. Thus, the present project comes as a proposal to solve this assumption, based on the integration of Bioprocess Engineering and Nutrition knowledge. Therefore, from the search in the specialized scientific research on this topic, there are few studies with the proposal to broadly evaluate the phycobiliproteins and other compounds provided by Spirulina biomass. The present project aims to determine a method of selectively extract phycobiliproteins, among which C-PC is highlighted, with a green chemistry approach using ILs and/or eutectic solvents, as well as the incorporation of C-PC into nanostructures to improve its stability. Besides, we aim to develop food products evaluating their antioxidant activity, bioaccessibility, and sensorial acceptance by consumers. This way, closing the cycle of the microalgal biomass economic utilization. (AU)