Rodrigues et al IUFOST

PHYCOCYANIN FROM MICROALGA Spirulina platensis AS BIOEMULSIFIER
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Ellen Francine Rodrigues , Laura Delise da Silva Tochetto , Lisiane Azambuja Franken ,
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Christian Oliveira Reinehr *, Telma Elita Bertolin , Luciane Maria Colla . Laboratory of
Fermentations. Food Engineering Course, Universidade de Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo-RS,
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Brasil. Post graduate course in Food Engineering, Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto
Uruguai e das Missões, Erechim-RS, Brasil. *[email protected]
Bioemulsifiers are surfactants obtained from microorganisms that are applicable in various
industrial sectors. In the food industry they are applied in the formation of consistency and
texture, in the air mixtures holding capacity and in the emulsification of phases. The use of
Spirulina platensis to obtain bioemulsifiers is an alternative that can be exploited because this
microalga is recognized as a food with no toxicity problems. The phycocyanin is a
phycobiliprotein with antioxidant properties, and is used as a blue dye. The use of phycocyanin
as surfactant allows the development of functional foods due to its antioxidant capacity. The aim
of this work was to evaluate the emulsifying activity of the pigment phycocyanin, extracted from
the microalga S. platensis. The phycocyanin was extracted from the biomass by cycles of
freezing and thawing in water followed by centrifugation. The extract was subjected to serial
dilutions in distilled water (6.5 % v/v; 8% v/v, 10% v/v, 11.5 % v/v, 13% v/v, 15% v/v and 25%
v/v) and the emulsification activities were determined in oil in water (O/W) and water in oil (W/O)
systems. The concentrations of phycocyanin of each dilution were determined by
spectrophotometry at 620 nm and 652 nm. The highest O/A and A/O activities, of 2.80 ± 0.07
Units of Emulsification and 225.88 ± 5.14 Units of Emulsification, respectively, were obtained
with 1.875 mg/mL of phycocyanin. As compared with activities of emulsifiers obtained by
fermentation with fungi and bacteria, these activities may be considered high. Moreover, the
growing conditions of microalgae could be optimized to increase this activity.