Comparative study between different extracts and brands of spirulina regarding antioxidant activity

Resumen

Spirulina is a seaweed consumed worldwide and studies related to its biological properties have increased in recent years. However, comparative studies on the antioxidant activity of spirulina are currently scarce. For this reason, this study compared the antioxidant activity of aqueous, hydroalcoholic, and ethanolic extracts of four brands of spirulina (B1, B2, B3, and B4), which are frequently consumed in the city of Arequipa, Peru. For this purpose, fluid extracts of spirulina were prepared using ultrasound. All four brands of spirulina studied were found to exhibit significant antioxidant activity. The aqueous extracts obtained antioxidant activity values of 51.70 ± 0.52, 48.24 ± 0.52, 36.82 ± 0.46, and 13.52 ± 0.61 umol TE/mL for brands B1, B2, B3 and B4, respectively. In the hydroalcoholic extracts, the antioxidant capacity was 6.66 ± 0.53, 6.48 ± 0.95, 3.25 ± 0.17, and 2.85 ± 0.26 umol TE/mL for B1, B2, B3, and B4, respectively. The ethanolic extracts showed antioxidant activity of 2.50 ± 0.26, 2.33 ± 0.26, 1.06 ± 0.26, and 1.00 ± 0.17 umol TE/mL for B1, B2, B3, and B4, respectively. Statistically, the hydroalcoholic extracts of the four brands were found to be significantly superior to the hydroalcoholic and ethanolic extracts. Finally, a significant difference was found between the brands of spirulina studied, suggesting that the production processes of spirulina may differ. For this reason, further studies could emerge from this study such as the search for the composition-brand relationship of spirulina, as well as, the standardization of the production process for a more uniform production of spirulina.