Phycocyanin is a pigment in spirulina. Regarding phycocyanin content in spirulina is an intensely blue protein-pigment complex that belongs to the phycobiliprotein (PBP) family. PBPs construct the phycobilisome (PBS), a peripheral auxiliary light-harvesting complex that is put together on the surface of the thylacoid membrane.

Quantity of Phycocyanobilin

 Firstly, Phycocyanin is one of the ingredients that could be use. Around 15 to 25 percent of the dry weight of Spirulina platensis’ biomass is made of Phycocyanobilin.

Secondly, One of the pigments made by spirulina is phycocyanin. Phycocyanobilin can be see in liquid phase as a mixture of various complexes, including monomers, trimers, hexamers, and other oligomers with molecular weights of 44–260 kDa.

There are two protein subunits that make up phytocyanin. Therefore, linear tetrapyrrole prosthetic groups (bilin chromophore) carried by each subunit are isomerically distinct and have distinctive double bond arrangements.

How we extract phycocyanin from Spirulina

Following are the process: 

• Extract the crude protein from the spirulina by freezing it for three hours
• To the crude extract, add 80 g/L (w/v) activated carbon.
• Collect the extract using a vacuum filter with a 0.22 m pore size membrane.

Continued steps: 

The yield of C-PC manufacture is 27%, and the total process cost (excluding manpower) is $26.1/kg. 63 percent of the dry biomass that was remaining after C-PC extraction was use to produce bio-crude oil using HTL.

Phycocyanin coloring agent

Phycocyanobilin is an algae-isolated protein that binds pigment and captures light and In China and Japan, phycobilisomes is a common colouring ingredient in dairy and nutritional items such jellies, gums, candies, beverages, and cosmetics.

Moreover Phycocyanobilin is sensitive to light and heat, yet it is a more pure form of blue than gardenia.

Method of purification

By using high pressure and a hexane extraction procedure, phycobilisomes from Spirulina platensis successfully stabilised purify. Because of how fragile this dye is during typical extraction techniques, this was necessary.

This method’s purification yield was estimate at 10.2 percent, which is 3 to 5 percent greater than the figure obtain from another common separation technique that uses phosphate buffer. Based on absorbance of 2.104 at 280 nm and 1.912 at 620 nm, the isolated Phycocyanobilin from this technique also displayed the greatest purity of 0.909.

Units of phycocyanin

Lastly Base on SDS-PAGE analysis, it was discover that two phycobilisomes subunits, namely -phycobilisomes (18.4 kDa) and -phycobilisomes (21.3 kDa), remain from the original mixtures after being extract.

This clearly shows that this process can stably extract phycobilisomes and is not impact by extraction solvent, temperature, etc. By comparing the isolated phycocyanin’s DPPH (diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity, which demonstrated an 83 percent elimination of oxygen free radicals, the stability of the substance was also validate.

Due to its sensitivity to heat treatment and lack of ability to withstand heat without sugars—preferably fructose—uses phycobilisomes’s as a colourant are restricted. Additionally, pH settings outside of the 5.0-6.0 range cause its blue hue to fade. Phycocyanins are use in the production of candy, ice cream, and other dairy products.

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