Nutritional Freshwater Life
22
Arthrospira platensis Gomont 1892 (= Spirulina platensis)
Order: Chroococcales
Family: Spirulinaceae
Common name: Spirulina.
Distribution: Tropical and subtropical
bodies of water; Africa, Asia, and South
America (AlgaeBase).
Habitat: Lakes.
Description: It is a free-floating species that tends to aggregate and form
mats along the periphery of the aqueous environment. Trichome is approximately 5  µm in diameter. Trichomes
vary greatly in length and are typically spiral shaped, though they can
take on a left-hand helical structure
in liquid media. When the trichome is
mature, it breaks up into short cellular chains of two to four cells, or hormogonia, which glide away and begin
new trichomes. Individual cells within
the filament are wider than they are
long and are separated by transverse
cross-walls. A.  platensis  does not possess any flagella. This serves as a useful
food supplement (Madkour et al., 2012;
djwesten@mst.edu).
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (% DM)
Protein
CHO a
Lipid
52.62
15.00
6.50
a Carbohydrate.
Source: Data from Madkour et al. (2012).
Fatty Acids (% DM)
C16:0 C16:1 C18:0 C18:1 C18:2 C18:3
45.92 2.74
0.89
7.77
11.95 20.63
Note: C16:0, palmitic acid; C16:1, palmitoleic acid; C18:0, stearic acid; C18:1,
oleic acid; C18:2, linoleic acid; C18:3,
gamma- linolenic acid.
Source: Data from Collaa et al. (2004); Australian Spirulina (2014).
Amino Acids (% DM)
Essential Amino Acids
Isoleucine
4.13
Leucine
5.80
Lysine
4.00
Methionine
2.17
Phenylalanine
3.95
Threonine
4.17
Tryptophane
1.13
Valine
6.00
Continued