Introduction:  Microalgae  are  known  for  their  bioactive  compounds  with  potential applications as antimicrobial, antiaging, and anticancer activities. Spirulina platensis (S. platensis) is a filamentous and photosynthetic microorganism that has 25 kinds of vitamins and minerals that contain many compounds with biotic activity such as alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and saponin...

A method for stably purifying a functional dye, phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis was developed by a hexane extraction process combined with high pressure. This was necessary because this dye is known to be very unstable during normal extraction processes. The purification yield of this method was estimated as 10.2%, whose value is 3%-5% higher than is the case from another conventional sep...

Spirulina represents a blue-green alga that is widely produced and commercialized as a dietary supplement for modulating immune functions, as well as ameliorating a variety of diseases. We have previously shown that the in vitro culture of Spirulina with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) modulated the production of cytokines. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of a Spi...

It is shown that diabetes can change hematological parameters and some microalgae, i.e. Spirulina platensis, could improve hematological parameters in non-diabetic rats. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Spirulina platensis (SPM) microalgae on hematological parameters in diabetic rats induced by Streptozotocin. Rats, 2.5 males old, were grouped into two sections includ...

The structure of plant-type [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin isolated from Spirulina platensis has been refined using diffraction data to 2.5 A resolution by alternate cycles of simulated annealing and manual revision of the model. The final R factor is 19.9% for 2,912 reflections with F > 2 sigma F between 8.0 and 2.5 A resolution. S. platensis ferredoxin, like other plant-type [2Fe-2S] ferredoxins, has a ...

Spirulina or Arthrospira is a blue-green alga that became famous after it was successfully used by NASA as a dietary supplement for astronauts on space missions. It has the ability to modulate immune functions and exhibits anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting the release of histamine by mast cells. Multiple studies investigating the efficacy and the potential clinical applications of Spir...

Biosorption of Cd(II), Ag(I) and Au(III) by cyanobacteria Spirulina platensis, of Au(II)—by Streptomyces spp. 19H, and of Cr(VI) and Cr(III)—by Arthrobacter species was studied by using the dialysis and atomic absorption analysis under various conditions. In particular, the impact of the following parameters on biosorption was studied: pH (for Ag, Cd, Au), living and non-living cells (for Cr), ...