Production of Spirulina (Arthrospira) Using Trona As A Major Ingredient of Culture Medium
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Date
2009-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The impressive protein content and rapid growth of Spirulina in entirely alkaline medium
have attracted the attention of both researchers and business men. Spirulina is one of the
best solutions for the simple production of proteinuous food supplement. The protein
content of Spirulina varies between 50 % and 70%. The present study was conducted to
investigate the possibility of producing Spirulina in outdoor cultivation technology using a
local product (Trona) as a substitute for the three major ingredients (NaHCO3, Na2CO3 &
NaCl) in the Zarroukās standard culture medium. The standard medium (SM) was prepared
from analytical grade chemicals and used as a control. Accordingly, a modified culture
medium (MM) was formulated by incorporating Trona (Na2CO3.NaHCO3.2H2O). 400 ml
brine sample was taken from Lake Chitu. The sample was filtered, and the SM & MM
media, were inoculated in triplicate with the Spirulia contained in the brine. The growth of
Spirulina continued for ten days with every 48 h monitoring. The data on Spirulina biomass
interms of yield and chlorophyll content were collected. Chemical and microbiogical
analyses were done. During the growth cycle, the exponential growth phase was
mathematically analyzed. In the scaling-up trial, a plastic dish with a diameter of 60 cm was
used in the place of a pond for 7 days. Accordingly, biomass determination, phyico- chmical
analysis and sensory evaluation were conducted. The doubling time in the analysis of the
exponential growth phase gave close values for both media (SM = 53 h, MM = 51 h). The
rest of the data were analyzed and means compared by t-Test using SPSS software at 5%
significance level. At the end of the experiment (10th day) the mean value of biomass yield
was 823.743 mg/l and 832.498 mg/l for the MM and SM respectively. Cell productivity was
83.221 mg l-1day-1 for the SM and 82.374 mg mgl-1day-1 for the MM. The crude protein
content of biomass was 50.53% and to 51.93 % in the MM and SM respectively. The odour
of Spirulina in SM was rated 6.333 and that of the MM was rated 5.666, while the taste of
the SM was 5.888 and the MM was 5.666. Comparison of the two mean values of yield,
proximate analysis and sensory analysis showed that there was no statistically significant
difference between the products in the SM and MM. This justifies that Trona can be used in
the culture medium to cultivate Spirulina for human consumption. Finally, Spirulina
production and processing technology has been outlined.
Key words: Culture medium, production, Spirulina, Trona.
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Keywords
Culture medium, Production, Spirulina, Trona