[Nutritive value of the spirulina algae (Spirulina maxima)]

Area of Science:

• Nutritional biochemistry
• Animal science
• Algae research

Context:

• Spiruline algae is explored as a potential protein source for animal feed.
• Understanding its nutritional value, particularly amino acid profiles and digestibility, is crucial for its application.
• Previous research on spiruline's nutritional efficacy in animal diets is limited.

Purpose:

• To determine the limiting amino acids in spiruline algae for rat nutrition.
• To assess the in vivo and in vitro digestibility of spiruline algae.
• To evaluate the impact of physical and chemical treatments on spiruline digestibility.

Summary:

• Five in vivo experiments with rats indicated no limiting amino acids (lysine, methionine, histidine) in spiruline-based diets, though palatability issues were noted.
• The apparent digestibility of spiruline algae was determined to be 67.4% in vivo.
• Four in vitro experiments using pepsin and ruminal liquid showed that physical or chemical treatments did not affect spiruline's digestibility.

Impact:

• Provides insights into the nutritional limitations and digestibility of spiruline algae as a feed ingredient.
• Suggests that palatability, rather than amino acid deficiency, might be a key factor in spiruline's utilization by rats.
• Highlights the stability of spiruline's digestibility across various in vitro conditions and treatments.