Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 8;11(14):2020.
doi: 10.3390/foods11142020.

Effects of Culture Conditions on the Performance of Arthrospira platensis and Its Production of Exopolysaccharides

Zihan Li  1 , Yuhuan Liu  1 , Ting Zhou  2 , Leipeng Cao  1 , Yihui Cai  1 , Yunpu Wang  1 , Xian Cui  1 , Hongbin Yan  1 , Roger Ruan  3 , Qi Zhang  1
Affiliations

Effects of Culture Conditions on the Performance of Arthrospira platensis and Its Production of Exopolysaccharides

Zihan Li et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Arthrospira platensis (A. platensis) has been widely applied in industry and commerce for its various activities but the accumulation of EPS in culture medium may influence the growth of A. platensis reversely. This work aims to explore the impacts of initial pH, nitrogen source and concentration, phosphate concentration and recycle times of the culture medium on the growth of A. platensis and the secretion of its EPS. The results showed that EPS accumulated with the increase in recycle times of culture medium. The optimal initial pH for the growth of A. platensis was 8.50, and high pH of 11.5 inhibited the growth of biomass while resulting in highest EPS content of 92.87 mg/g DW. Excessive and limited nitrogen (NaNO3 of 25.00 g/L and NaNO3 < 2.50 g/L) and phosphate (K2HPO4 of 5.00 g/L and K2HPO4 < 0.50 g/L) inhibited the biomass production of A. platensis by 1.28−30.77% and 14.29−45.05%, respectively. EPS yield of 97.57 mg/g DW and 40.90 mg/g DW were obtained under NaNO3 of 25.00 g/L and K2HPO4 of 5.00 g/L due to salt stress. These findings are beneficial in providing a theoretical basis for high yield EPS from A. platensis without affecting biomass yield.

Keywords: Arthrospira platensis; exopolysaccharides; growth inhibition; medium recycle; nitrogen source.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design of the medium recycle.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effects of medium recycling on the growth and EPS secretion of A. platensis: (a) Growth curves; (b) Biomass production and growth inhibition; (c) EPS content; (d) EPS yield; DW: dry weight; a–d: Different letters above the bars indicated a significant difference among the groups. Points showed average of three independent measurements; vertical bars indicated the standard deviation. (p < 0.01, n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effects of initial pH medium on the growth and EPS secretion of A. platensis: (a) Growth curves; (b) pH value; (c) Biomass production and growth rate; (d) EPS content; (e) EPS yield; DW: dry weight; a–e: Different letters above the bars indicated a significant difference among the groups. Points showed average of three independent measurements; vertical bars indicated the standard deviation. (p < 0.01, n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effects of initial pH medium on the growth and EPS secretion of A. platensis: (a) Growth curves; (b) pH value; (c) Biomass production and growth rate; (d) EPS content; (e) EPS yield; DW: dry weight; a–e: Different letters above the bars indicated a significant difference among the groups. Points showed average of three independent measurements; vertical bars indicated the standard deviation. (p < 0.01, n = 3).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effects of nitrogen source and concentration on the growth and EPS secretion of A. platensis: (a) Growth curves; (b) Biomass production and growth rate; (c) EPS content; (d) EPS yield; DW: dry weight; a–e: Different letters above the bars indicated a significant difference among the groups. Points showed average of three independent measurements; vertical bars indicated the standard deviation. (p < 0.01, n = 3).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effects of phosphate concentration on the growth and EPS secretion of A. platensis: (a) Growth curves; (b) Biomass production and growth rate; (c) EPS content; (d) EPS yield; DW: dry weight; a–d: Different letters above the bars indicated a significant difference among the groups. Points showed average of three independent measurements; vertical bars indicated the standard deviation. (p < 0.01, n = 3).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Grosshagauer S., Kraemer K., Somoza V. The True Value of Spirulina. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2020;68:4109–4115. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b08251. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhou T., Wang J., Zheng H., Wu X., Wang Y., Liu M., Xiang S., Cao L., Ruan R., Liu Y. Characterization of Additional Zinc Ions on the Growth, Biochemical Composition and Photosynthetic Performance from Spirulina Platensis. Bioresour. Technol. 2018;269:285–291. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.08.131. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Acién Fernández F.G., Fernández Sevilla J.M., Molina Grima E. Biofuels from Algae. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2019. Costs Analysis of Microalgae Production; pp. 551–566. - DOI
    1. Fanka L.S., da Rosa G.M., de Morais M.G., Costa J.A.V. Outdoor Production of Biomass and Biomolecules by Spirulina (Arthrospira) and Synechococcus Cultivated with Reduced Nutrient Supply. BioEnergy Res. 2021;15:121–130. doi: 10.1007/s12155-021-10320-1. - DOI
    1. Lu Z., Loftus S., Sha J., Wang W., Park M.S., Zhang X., Johnson Z.I., Hu Q. Water Reuse for Sustainable Microalgae Cultivation: Current Knowledge and Future Directions. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2020;161:104975. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104975. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources