Stable Isolation of Phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis Associated with High-Pressure Extraction Process

Abstract

A method for stably purifying a functional dye, phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis was developed by a hexane extraction process combined with high pressure. This was necessary because this dye is known to be very unstable during normal extraction processes. The purification yield of this method was estimated as 10.2%, whose value is 3%–5% higher than is the case from another conventional separation method using phosphate buffer. The isolated phycocyanin from this process also showed the highest purity of 0.909 based on absorbance of 2.104 at 280 nm and 1.912 at 620 nm. Two subunits of phycocyanin namely α-phycocyanin (18.4 kDa) and β-phycocyanin (21.3 kDa) were found to remain from the original mixtures after being extracted, based on SDS-PAGE analysis, clearly demonstrating that this process can stably extract phycocyanin and is not affected by extraction solvent, temperature, etc. The stability of the extracted phycocyanin was also confirmed by comparing its DPPH (α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity, showing 83% removal of oxygen free radicals. This activity was about 15% higher than that of commercially available standard phycocyanin, which implies that the combined extraction method can yield relatively intact chromoprotein through absence of degradation. The results were achieved because the low temperature and high pressure extraction effectively disrupted the cell membrane of Spirulina platensis and degraded less the polypeptide subunits of phycocyanin (which is a temperature/pH-sensitive chromoprotein) as well as increasing the extraction yield.

Cyanobacteria Proliferation in the Cenomanian‐Turonian Boundary Interval of the Apennine Carbonate Platform: Immediate Response to the Environmental Perturbations Associated With OAE‐2?

“…The presence of EPS allowed the preservation of specific microbial remains such as abundant mineralized sheaths of cyanobacteria trichomes and filaments resembling Spirulina-like microorganisms. These remains are comparable to those observed in aquatic organisms that are found inhabiting present-day freshwater tropical environments (e.g., Seo et al, 2013) or microbial mats in tropical marine settings (Charpy et al, 2012). These comparisons allow for the interpretation that changes in the abundance of cyanobacteria in the marine-derived organic matter matrix may be the principal control on the δ 13 C org variations at MC and RdP.…”

Phycocyanin Inhibits Tumorigenic Potential of Pancreatic Cancer Cells: Role of Apoptosis and Autophagy

“…Phycocyanin (electrophoretic purity) was isolated and purified from Spirulina platensis according to the protocols reported previously with minor modifications 56 . Isolated phycocyanin was dissolved at a concentration of 1 mM in PBS (pH 7.4) as a stock solution and kept at −80 °C.…”

Stability and Antioxidant Activity of Food-Grade Phycocyanin Isolated fromSpirulina platensis

“…[6] As a water-soluble natural pigment, it is also widely used as a food coloring agent, cosmetic additives, fluorescent reagent for clinical diagnosis, and immunochemistry. [7][8][9] In addition, phycocyanin has significant antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and radical scavenging properties. [10][11][12] Phycocyanin also prevents cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity through the inhibition of oxidative stress.…”