An in vitro study on cholesterol degradation by spirulina

The aim of this study is to screen the Cyanobacterium Spirulina for cholesterol degradation. The Spirulina culture were collected and identified based on morphological appearance. In vitro study of cholesterol degradation by Spirulina was carried out by the cultivation of Spirulina in the medium containing 0.5% of two different concentrations of blood serum cholesterol (Hypocholesterol-142 mg/dl & Hypercholesterol-280 mg/dl). The cholesterol degrading activity of Spirulina was detected by the concentration of cholesterol in the medium. It was measured by enzymatic colorimetric method at 500 nm after 5 days. The Spirulina showed better degradation (89.2%) in the medium containing blood serum cholesterol in 5 days.