Mixotrophic culture of Arthrospira platensis and a comparison of the effects of adding different carbon sources to culture medium on biomass production and phycobilin protein content

Arthrospira platensis contains valuable metabolites such as proteins, antioxidants, lipids, vitamins, and minerals and is used as a food source for humans and animals. The microalgae are usually cultured in three ways: autotrophic culture, heterotrophic culture (with added extra carbon sources) or mixotrophic culture depending on the species and human needs. Physiological changes in algae have been proved to happen depending on environmental conditions during growth. Also, there are a variety of algae species that can tolerate additional sugars as a carbon source in culture media under heterotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. The present study compares the subsequent effects of adding different carbon sources on biomass production and content of intracellular compounds specially phycobiliproteins. The results showed that sodium acetate in any concentrations can lead the stock produce more biomass and also has a significant positive effect on phycocyanin production within the algal cell (P≤0.05). Glycerol, however, is showed to be more effective in biomass proliferation and seems to have a positive effect on biomass dry weight yield.