Development of sensitive and specific multiplex PCR method for the detection of microcystin producing cyanobacteria in spirulina food supplements

Spirulina has emerged as the next-generation dietary supplement owing to its health benefits. Despite the advantages, there have been reports of contamination by cyanotoxins such as microcystins that can adversely affect human health. Hence, there is a need to develop a robust, efficient, and cost-e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food science and biotechnology 2019, 28(2), , pp.609-614
Main Authors: Manali, Kamath Mukund, Arunraj, Rex, Ramakrishnan, Gautham Subramaniam, Ramya, Mohandass
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Contamination
Cyanobacteria
Diet
Dietary supplements
Fish feeds
Food
Food contamination
Food Science
Microcystins
Multiplexing
Nutrition
PCB
PCB compounds
Phycocyanin
Polychlorinated biphenyls
Polymerase chain reaction
Quality control
Sensitivity analysis
식품과학
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Summary:Spirulina has emerged as the next-generation dietary supplement owing to its health benefits. Despite the advantages, there have been reports of contamination by cyanotoxins such as microcystins that can adversely affect human health. Hence, there is a need to develop a robust, efficient, and cost-effective method to detect microcystin-producing cyanobacteria in these food supplements. In this study, we have demonstrated a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for identification of microcystin-contamination in spirulina dietary supplements. This method involves simultaneous amplification of phycocyanin and microcystin B encoding genes ( pcb , mcy B). The sensitivity of the multiplex PCR was assessed, and the limit of detecting mcy B along with pcb was found to be 250 fg/µL. The presence of microcystin was detected in five out of seven fish food supplements indicating poor culture conditions. Hence, rigorous quality control is required for monitoring the spirulina food supplements.
ISSN:1226-7708
2092-6456
DOI:10.1007/s10068-018-0476-0