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ABSTRACT
Habib, M.A.B.; Parvin, M.; Huntington, T.C.; Hasan, M.R.
A review on culture, production and use of spirulina as food for humans and feeds for domestic animals
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular. No. 1034. Rome, FAO.
2008. 33p.
Spirulina are multicellular and filamentous blue-green microalgae belonging to two separate genera
Spirulina and Arthrospira and consists of about 15 species. Of these, Arthrospira platensis is the most
common and widely available spirulina and most of the published research and public health decision
refers to this specific species. It grows in water, can be harvested and processed easily and has
significantly high macro- and micronutrient contents. In many countries of Africa, it is used as human
food as an important source of protein and is collected from natural water, dried and eaten. It has gained
considerable popularity in the human health food industry and in many countries of Asia it is used as
protein supplement and as human health food. Spirulina has been used as a complementary dietary
ingredient of feed for poultry and increasingly as a protein and vitamin supplement to aquafeeds.
Spirulina appears to have considerable potential for development, especially as a small-scale crop for
nutritional enhancement, livelihood development and environmental mitigation. FAO fisheries statistics
(FishStat) hint at the growing importance of this product. Production in China was first recorded at 19 080
tonnes in 2003 and rose sharply to 41 570 tonnes in 2004, worth around US$7.6 millions and US$16.6
millions, respectively. However, there are no apparent figures for production in the rest of the world. This
suggests that despite the widespread publicity about spirulina and its benefits, it has not yet received the
serious consideration it deserves as a potentially key crop in coastal and alkaline areas where traditional
agriculture struggles, especially under the increasing influence of salination and water shortages.
There is therefore a role for both national governments – as well as intergovernmental organizations – to
re-evaluate the potential of spirulina to fulfill both their own food security needs as well as a tool for their
overseas development and emergency response efforts. International organization(s) working with
spirulina should consider preparing a practical guide to small-scale spirulina production that could be
used as a basis for extension and development methodologies. This small-scale production should be
orientated towards: (i) providing nutritional supplements for widespread use in rural and urban
communities where the staple diet is poor or inadequate; (ii) allowing diversification from traditional
crops in cases where land or water resources are limited; (iii) an integrated solution for waste water
treatment, small-scale aquaculture production and other livestock feed supplement; and (iv) as a shortand
medium-term solution to emergency situations where a sustainable supply of high protein/high
vitamin foodstuffs is required.
A second need is a better monitoring of global spirulina production and product flows. The current
FishStat entry which only includes China is obviously inadequate and the reason why other countries are
not included investigated. Furthermore, it would be beneficial if production was disaggregated into
different scales of development, e.g. intensive, semi-intensive and extensive. This would allow a better
understanding of the different participants involved and assist efforts to combine experience and
knowledge for both the further development of spirulina production technologies and their replication in
the field. A third need is to develop clear guidelines on food safety aspects of spirulina so that human
health risks can be managed during production and processing. Finally, it would be useful to have some
form of web-based resource that allows the compilation of scientifically robust information and statistics
for public access. There are already a number of spirulina-related websites (e.g. www.spirulina.com,
www.spirulinasource.com) – whilst useful resources, they lack the independent scientific credibility that
is required.
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