Nutritional Quality and Safety of the Spirulina Dietary Supplements Sold on the Slovenian Market

• Published in: Foods 2022-03, Vol.11 (6), p.849
• Main Authors: Masten Rutar, Jasmina, Jagodic Hudobivnik, Marta, Nečemer, Marijan, Vogel Mikuš, Katarina, Arčon, Iztok, Ogrinc, Nives
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Additives; Algae; Amino acids; Bioavailability; Consumers; Control systems; cyanobacteria; Dietary supplements; elements; Essential nutrients; Fatty acids; Food; Food science; Iron; Mass spectrometry; microalgae; Natural & organic foods; Nutrient content; Nutrients; Nutritive value; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Radiation; Reproducibility; Scientific imaging; Selenium; Sensors; Software packages; Spirulina; toxic elements; Vitamins
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods11060849

The microalgae may be a popular dietary supplement rich in essential nutrients and vitamins, but oversight of the supplement industry, in general, remains limited, and increasing incidents of adulteration, misbranding, and undeclared ingredients together with misleading claims create potential risks. In response, this study characterized the elemental, amino acid and fatty acid content of commercially available supplements in Slovenia using EDXRF, ICP-MS and GC-MS and compared the results with their nutritional declaration. The gathered data confirm that supplements are a good source of calcium (0.15 to 29.5% of RDA), phosphorous (3.36-26.7% of RDA), potassium (0.5 to 7.69% of RDA) and selenium (0.01 to 38.6% of RDA) when consumed within recommended amounts. However, although iron contents were relatively high (7.64 to 316% of RDA), the actual bioavailability of iron was much lower since it was mainly present as the ferric cation. This study also confirms that pure supplements are a good source of essential and non-essential amino acids, and ω-6 but not ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The presence of additives resulted in significant variation in nutrient content and, in some instances, lower product quality. Moreover, a high proportion (86.7%) of inappropriate declarations regarding the elemental content was observed. Overall, the study conclusions underline the need for a stricter control system for -based supplements.