Nutritional quality and safety of the Spirulina dietary supplements sold on the Slovenian market

Masten Rutar, Jasmina (avtor), Jagodic Hudobivnik, Marta (avtor), Nečemer, Marijan (avtor), Vogel-Mikuš, Katarina (avtor), Arčon, Iztok (avtor), Ogrinc, Nives (avtor)

The microalgae Spirulina may be a popular dietary supplement rich in essential nutrients and vitamins, but oversight of the supplement industry, in general, remains limited, and increasing incidents of adulteration, misbranding, and undeclared ingredients together with misleading claims create potential risks. In response, this study characterized the elemental, amino acid and fatty acid content of commercially available Spirulina supplements in Slovenia using EDXRF, ICP-MS and GC-MS and compared the results with their nutritional declaration. The gathered data confirm that Spirulina supplements are a good source of calcium (0.15 to 29.5% of RDA), phosphorous (3.36–26.7% of RDA), potassium (0.5 to 7.69% of RDA) and selenium (0.01 to 38.6% of RDA) when consumed within recommended amounts. However, although iron contents were relatively high (7.64 to 316% of RDA), the actual bioavailability of iron was much lower since it was mainly present as the ferric cation. This study also confirms that pure Spirulina supplements are a good source of essential and non-essential amino acids, and ω-6 but not ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The presence of additives resulted in significant variation in nutrient content and, in some instances, lower product quality. Moreover, a high proportion (86.7%) of inappropriate declarations regarding the elemental content was observed. Overall, the study conclusions underline the need for a stricter control system for Spirulina-based supplements.

• Jezik: Angleški jezik
• Ključne besede: Spirulina, microalgae, cyanobacteria, elements, toxic elements, amino acids, fatty acids, authenticity, safety, quality
• Vrsta gradiva: Članek v reviji
• Tipologija: 1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
• Organizacija: BF - Biotehniška fakulteta
• Status publikacije: Objavljeno
• Različica publikacije: Objavljena publikacija
• Leto izida: 2022
• Št. strani: 20 str.
• Številčenje: Vol. 11, iss. 6, art. 849
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-137531
• UDK: 502/504
• ISSN pri članku: 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods11060849
• COBISS.SI-ID: 101750275
• Datum objave v RUL: 21.06.2022

Gradivo je del revije

• Naslov: Foods
• Skrajšan naslov: Foods
• Založnik: MDPI
• ISSN: 2304-8158
• COBISS.SI-ID: 512252472

Licence

• Licenca: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna
• Povezava: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.sl
• Opis: To je standardna licenca Creative Commons, ki daje uporabnikom največ možnosti za nadaljnjo uporabo dela, pri čemer morajo navesti avtorja.
• Začetek licenciranja: 17.03.2022