Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology ISSN No:-2456-2165 IJISRT22MAR135 www.ijisrt.com 96 Applications of Arthrospira Platensis Kiran Salokhe Department of Biotechnology, KIT’S College of Engineering, Kolhapur, 416012, India Abstract:- Arthrospira platensis is also known as spirulina, which is a blue-green algae. It grows rapidly & easily without much supply of external nutrients. In today’s world, rapidly changing needs of human beings are not getting satisfied with existing material resources and we need to have an alternative source for it. There are problems like depletion of fossil fuels, pollution caused by synthetic dye, lack of nutrient-rich food, lack of efficient fertilizers, etc. To overcome these problems, spirulina can be a satisfactory alternative. In this review paper, different applications of Arthrospira platensis are discussed. Still, a lot of research has to be done but spirulina has a strong potential as a solution to the above listed problems. Keyword:- Spirulina, application of spirulina. I. INTRODUCTION Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae that is multicellular & filamentous in nature, found in both freshwater habitats & altwater habitats. It belongs to the phylum cyanobacteria. Recently, this algae is being widely because of its high protein content, macro & micronutrients. Growing & harvesting spirulina is facile. It has been used as a dietary supplement for centuries. Spirulina naturally grows in the alkaline lakes, so settlements around these lakes have been consuming it for a very long time [1]. Spirulina was first discovered in the valley of Mexico in the sixteenth century by the Spanish invaders. It was then rediscovered by French phycologist Dangeard in 1940, near Lake Chad. It has a high production rate so it can produce 20 times more protein per unit area than soybean, 40 times more than corn & 400 times more than beef [5]. Spirulina contains about 60-65% of dry weight proteins. It also contains essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins like B12 & E, polysaccharides, minerals, pigments like chlorophyll, C- phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and β-carotene. The C- phycocyanin content was determined to be 12.6% in dried spirulina [6]. NASA uses spirulina as a space travel nutrient supplement because of its high protein, vitamin rich content as well as high phycocyanin content which is associated with antioxidants [4]. The biomass produced by the genus Arthrospirais sometimescalled spirulina. Most commonly, Arthrospira platensis is utilized [2]. Over 30 % of biomass is produced globally from this spirulina species because of its high protein content (60 % of dry weight) as well as photosynthetic pigments like carotenoid [3]. It is used in a variety of applications like medical, aquaculture, food, textile, cosmetics, biofertilizers, biofuels, and biomaterials. II. CHARACTERISTICS OF ARTHROSPIRA PLATENSIS It is believed that cyanobacteria evolved 3.5 billion years ago & they were the first organisms to fix atmospheric carbon dioxide into inorganic carbon with the help of water. Spirulina grows in warm & alkaline water (pH = 10-11). Years ago, Mexican settlements started using this blue-green alga as human food. Currently, it is majorly consumed by the African Kanembou tribe near Chad Lake. And it is grown all over the world because of its high protein content & health benefits [18]. A. platensis belongs to the kingdom Monera. Kingdom Monera contains bacteria (prokaryotic organisms). Prokaryotic organisms do not have membrane-bound cell organelles. It belongs to the phylum cyanobacteria, which encompasses photosynthetic filamentous eubacteria. A. platensis is called blue-green algae but it is not true algae. The name is given in such manner because it is a photosynthetic organism & grows in water & when a considerable amount of A. platensis grows in water, the water looks green or blue-green. True algae belong to kingdom plantae because algae have defined cell organelle structure i.e. eukaryotic, but that is not the case with A. platensis. A variety of products can be obtained from spirulina, main advantages of these products are that they are eco- friendly, sustainable and renewable.