• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.213-217
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• 2008

This study investigated the effect of supplement of the pigment source in diets on body color for round tailed paradise fish Macropodus chinensis and the pale chub Zacco platypus. Fish (the round tailed paradise fish: 1.6 g/ fish, pale chub: 2.4 g/fish) were fed diets containing various pigment sources (Porphyra powder, Spirulina powder. yeast astaxanthin and paprika extract) twice a day for 6 weeks. Survival of all treatments was above 80%. Weight gain and total carotenoid contents of round tailed paradise fish fed the diet containing Porphyra powder was higher than that of fish fed the other diets. The apparent redness of skin and fin in round tailed paradise fish fed the diets containing paprika extract and yeast astaxanthin was better than that of fish fed the diets containing Porphyra powder, Spirulina powder and the control diet. Weight gain and total carotenoid contents of pale chub fed the diet containing paprika extract were higher than that of fish fed the containing Porphyra powder, yeast astaxanthin, Spirulina powder and the control diet. The apparent redness of skin and fin in pale chub fed the diets containing parika extract and yeast astaxanthin was better than that of fish fed the diets containing Porphyra powder, Spirulina and the control diet. The results of this study suggest that dietary supplementation with paprika extract and yeast astaxanthin can improve redness of skin and fin of round tailed paradise fish and pale chub.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.8.1-8.8
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• 2015

Background: The demand for healthy, lean and consistent meat products containing low saturated fatty acid content and high quality polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially long-chain (${\geq}C_{20}$) omega-3 PUFA, has increased in recent times. Fat deposition is altered by both the genetic background and dietary supplements, and this study aimed to assess the effect of dietary Spirulina supplementation levels on the mRNA expression patterns of genes controlling lipid metabolism in the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and Longissimus dorsi (ld) muscle of Australian crossbred sheep. Methods: Twenty-four weaned lambs belonging to four breeds under the same management conditions were maintained on ryegrass pasture and fed three levels of Spirulina supplement (control, low and high). In terms of nutrient composition, Spirulina is a nutrient-rich supplement that contains all essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. It also is a rich source of carotenoids and fatty acids, especially gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) that infer health benefits. After slaughter, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and ld samples were subjected to mRNA extraction and reverse transcription using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to assess the mRNA expression levels of the Aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), Adrenergic beta-3 receptor (ADRB3), B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) and Fatty acid synthase (FASN) genes, which are associated with lipid metabolism. Results: Both low and high Spirulina supplementation levels strongly up-regulated the transcription of all the selected genes in both SAT and ld tissues (mostly in the subcutaneous adipose), but sheep breed and sex did not influence the gene expression patterns in these tissues. Conclusions: The evidence indicates that high Spirulina supplementation level resulted in a decrease in intramuscular fat content in Australian purebred and crossbred sheep due to the enhanced production of melatonin in sheep muscle tissues and strong up-regulation of mRNA expression of BTG2 in SAT which negatively affected fat deposition. In contrast, low Spirulina supplementation level strongly up-regulated the ADRB3 and FASN genes responsible for fat production. These findings are consistent with the observed phenotypic data suggesting that low Spirulina supplementation level can increase lamb production, with higher long-chain PUFA content.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.409-416
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• 1998

Owing to their high growth rate, marine microalgae such as Chlorella, Spirulina, Porphpidium and Dunaliella have been believed to be potentially useful for the production of foods, drugs and energy from light, $CO_2$ and minerals. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the growth and fatty acid composition in the blue green alga Spirulina platensis when the temperature and light intensity of culture conditions were changed. The optimal growth conditions for Spirulina platensis from the biomass and lipid contents were $30^{\circ}C$ on 6391 $\mu$E/$m^3$/sec and $35^{\circ}C$ on 4235 $\mu$E/$m^3$/sec. The difference of lipid contents between exponential phase and stationary phase were very large according to growth conditions. According to growth conditions the fatty acid compositions of Spirulina platensis differed, but regardless of growth conditions the main fatty acids were C16 : 0 and C20 : 0 in saturated fatty acid, C16 : 1, C18 : 1 and C 18 : 2 in unsaturated fatty acid.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.644-648
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• 2007

Exposure of algae or plants to irradiance from above the light saturation point of photosynthesis is known as high light stress. This high light stress induces various responses including photoinhibition of the photosynthetic apparatus. The degree of photoinhibition could be clearly determined by measuring the parameters such as absorption and fluorescence of chromoproteins. In cyanobacteria and red algae, most of the photosystem (PS) II associated light harvesting is performed by a membrane attached complex called the phycobilisome (PBS). The effects of high intensity light (1000-4000 ${\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$) on excitation energy transfer from PBSs to PS II in a cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis were studied by measuring room temperature PC fluorescence emission spectra. High light (3000 ${\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$) stress had a significant effect on PC fluorescence emission spectra. On the other hand, light stress induced an increase in the ratio of PC fluorescence intensity of PBS indicating that light stress inhibits excitation energy transfer from PBS to PS II. The high light treatment to 3000 ${\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$ caused disappearance of 31.5 kDa linker polypeptide which is known to link PC discs together. In addition we observed the similar decrease in the other polypeptide contents. Our data concludes that the Spirulina cells upon light treatment causes alterations in the phycobiliproteins (PBPs) and affects the energy transfer process within the PBSs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1248-1254
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• 2006

The effect of Spirulina platens is and probiotics as feed additives on the growth of the shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis was investigated in comparison with a control. The shrimp were cultured in rearing tanks in a seawater pond for 35 days from September 1, 2004. As regards the water quality, the probiotic treatment (T2, commercial diet and 3% probiotics) produced a lower TDN (total dissolved nitrogen) and TDP (total dissolved phosphorus), making it effective in water quality improvement. Nonetheless, the phytoplankton flora succeeded from diatoms to cyanobacteria, regardless of the feed additives. Treatment T3, including 3% S. platensis, produced the highest mean body weight, which was 39% higher than that for all the other treatments (P<0.05). Accordingly, it was found that the use of Spirulina and probiotics as feed additives increased the shrimp body weight and improved the water quality, respectively.

• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.133-139
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• 2006

Outdoor cultivation of cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis was carried out for 40 days in a batch mode. A half concentration of the SOT based on the underground water was used as culture medium. Working volume was 5.7 tons with 0.2 m depth. During cultivation, mean water temperature, DO and light intensity were all in proper conditions for the S. platensis growth. The adjustment of pH to over 10 with Na2CO3 and addition of the 1.5% natural salt were very effective to delete contaminant organisms, Chlamydomonas moewusii and Chlorella minutissima occurred one after the other in the culture. The mean productivity of the biomass based on the dry cell weight from 14 to 25 days, after the contaminants were deleted, was 7.8 g ·m–2· d–1, which was relatively high productivity in that a half concentration of the SOT was used for the culture. Underground water used in the culture minimized contaminants invasion and addition of the 1.5% natural salt was effective to delete contaminants as well as acted as mineral supplement in outdoor cultivation of S. platensis. Harvesting using the floating activity of S. platensis was effective from mass floating in day time after overnight without agitation and illumination.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.609-614
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• 2010

The effluent from anaerobic digestion contains organic nitrogen and phosphorus, which are both required for growth of Spirulina platensis. Effluent (20%) from the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) from a pig farm, supplemented with 4.5 g/l sodium bicarbonate ($NaHCO_3$) and 0.2 g/l urea fertilizer (46:0:0, N:P:K), was found to be not only a suitable medium for the growth of Spirulina platensis but also a low-cost alternative. Cost calculation showed that this medium is 4.4 times cheaper than modifized Zarrouk's medium. The average productivities of a semi-continuous culture grown under outdoor conditions in a 6-1 scale and a 100-1 pilot scale were 19.9 $g/m^2/d$ and 12 $g/m^2/d$, respectively. In addition, the biomass of organisms grown in UASB effluent contained approximately 57.9% protein, 1.12% $\gamma$-linolenic acid, and 19.5% phycocyanin. The average rates of bicarbonate, total nitrogen, and phosphorus removal were 380 mg/l/d, 34 mg/l/d, and 4 mg/l/d, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.621-629
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• 2013

Since algae had been issued an environmental problem, water blooms, deepened due to increase of retention water basin in Korea as well as a biomass resource for producing biofuel, this study conducted a series of experiments for Spirulina platensis using the flotation process with micro-bubble. To elevate utilization of collected-algae, this study focused on omitting or minimizing coagulant's doses as changing a cultivation period and condition affected on physical property change of algae. Two coagulants, PAC and Chitosan, were used to test the collecting rate of algae and the result found no difference between two rates. For flotation experiments without adding the coagulant, dried algae weight (passing 14 days after cultivation for 20 days) detected high separation efficiency 98.2 % and it (passing 7 days after long-term cultivation for 28 days) presented good separation efficiency 91.9 %. Chlorophyll's separation efficiency showed a similar tendency with the case of the dried algae weight. In endogeny conditions, a light source and a carbon source were not considerably affected on the flotation separation efficiency. Thus, this study confirms that algae biomass may be collected without the coagulant during the endogeny condition period after enough cultivation time, 3 weeks.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.271-279
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• 2021

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions, including extraction time, extraction temperature, and ethanol concentration, were optimized to increase the total flavonoid content (TFC), tyrosinase inhibitory activity (TIA), and collagenase inhibitory activity (CIA) of Spirulina platensis through central composite design (CCD). For the optimization of the three dependent variables, a quadratic regression model was derived from 17 experimental sets for the simultaneous maximization of TFC, TIA, and CIA. The predicted optimal UAE conditions were 44.0 min of extraction time, 82.8℃ of extraction temperature, and 96.0% of ethanol concentration. Under these conditions, 0.93 mg QE/g DM of TFC, 81.9% of CIA, and 92.1% of TIA were predicted. The CCD-based UAE optimization enabled an increase in TFC, CIA, and TIA, thereby confirming that the S. platensis extract can be used in the development of a cosmetic material with skin whitening and anti-wrinkle effects.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.790-795
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• 2014

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary carotenoids sources on growth and skin color of red- and white-colored fancy carp Cyprinus carpio var. koi. Nine experimental diets (designated as Con, CP, PA, SP, OP, MB, TO, BE and PO) were formulated to contain Carophyll Pink, red paprika, Spirulina, Opuntia, mandarin bark, tomato, beet and Porphyra, respectively. Each experimental diet was fed to two replicate groups of fish (22.9 g/fish) to visual satiation three times a day for 8 weeks. Weight gain and feed efficiency of fish fed the diets containing Spirulina or Opuntia were higher than those of fish fed the control diet (P<0.05). The values of $a^*$, $L^*$ and $b^*$ of fish skin were significantly changed by dietary carotenoids sources (P<0.05). The $a^*$ values of fish fed the diets containing Carophyll Pink, red paprika and Spirulina were higher than those of fish fed other diets (P<0.05). The skin total carotenoids of fish fed the diets containing Spirulina and Opuntia were higher than those of others (P>0.05). Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that dietary inclusion of red paprika and Spirulina pacifica could increase the skin redness of red- and white-colored fancy carp.