Separation of phycocyanin from spirulina by photosynthetic
Abstract
Today, spirulina is cultivated on land in various ways. The mass production of microalgae and their bioactive compounds has been steadily increasing in response to the global demand for natural compounds. Spirulina in particular has been used due to its high nutritional value, especially its high protein content. Spirulina extracts are mainly associated with promising biological functions related to the high-value blue pigment phycocyanin. Phycocyanin is used in several industries such as food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, increasing its market value. Due to the global interest and the need to replace synthetic compounds with natural compounds, efforts have been made to optimize the large-scale production process and maintain the stability of phycocyanin, a highly unstable protein. This paper describes the production, extraction and purification methods, including the main physical and chemical parameters that can affect the purity, recovery and stability of phycocyanin.