Knowledge about Phycocyanin

Introduction To Phycocyanin

Phycocyanin is one of the rare pigment proteins found in nature. Not only is it vibrantly colored, it's also a nutritious protein with a complete amino acid profile and a high content of essential amino acids.
Phycocyanin has been shown to have anti-cancer effects, promote blood cell regeneration, nourish the ovaries, and stimulate elastin synthesis in the body. In the early 21st century, phycocyanin was widely used in Europe, the United States, Japan, and other countries as a high-quality natural pigment in food and cosmetics, and was also formulated into biopharmaceuticals. In 1986, Confident Phycocyanin, developed by the Japan AIDS Research Institute and produced by CONFIDENCE Algae Nutrition Foods, was used as a rehabilitation drug and nutritional food for cancer and leukemia patients, achieving remarkable therapeutic benefits.

Application Of Phycocyanin

The application research of phycocyanin is very extensive and can be summarized as follows:
(1) Natural food pigment: Phycocyanin is a water-soluble pigment, non-toxic, pure blue, clear and lovely, and can be used as a food colorant and cosmetic additive.
(2) Medical and health food: Phycocyanin in vitro experiments have stimulated the formation of red blood cell colonies, similar to the effect of erythropoietin (EPO). Many phycocyanin compound drugs have been successfully developed abroad. The Japanese Kangpai AIDS Research Institute has successfully reported that phycocyanin can improve anemia and increase hemoglobin. In 1982, Iijima et al. studied that oral administration of phycocyanin to mice increased the survival rate of mice injected with liver tumor cells, and the lymphocyte activity of the experimental group mice was significantly higher than that of the control group. They believed that the protein has the function of promoting immunity and resisting disease. In 1986, Schwartz and Shklar of Harvard Hospital in the United States found that spirulina phycocyanin has an inhibitory effect on some cancer cells.
(3) Special reagents for biological, chemical and cytological experiments: Phycocyanin is blue and fluorescent, and can be used as a research reagent for some photodynamics in biology and cytology.

Preparation Of Phycocyanin

Spores of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira latifolia are cultured at a pH of 8.5-11 in a medium with carbonate or carbon dioxide as the carbon source at 30-35°C with aeration. The algae are then dried and extracted with water to extract the pigment and soluble protein. The extract is then vacuum-concentrated and spray-dried to produce this product.