Spirulina platensis

Atheroprotective Activity of Spirulina

DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO Ph.D foods, green syn , , , , ,

Atheroprotective activity of Spirulina may be due to it having a protein with a similar structure to bilirubin

Spirulina platensis, a water blue-green alga and food supplement due to its high amount of proteins, polysaccharides, and vitamins, has been associated with potent biological effects.

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Atheroprotective Activity of Spirulina

http://www.chemistryviews.org/details/news/5279011/Atheroprotective_Activity_of_Spirulina.html

In order for our body to ensure all organ functions it needs natural nutrients in the best and highest concentration. Spirulina’s “natural treasure chest” contains a unique and balanced combination of the highest levels of natural substances that are essential for good health. Spirulina has a very thin cell wall, which enables vital nutrients to be easily absorbed by the body.

Spirulina in comparison

Spirulina contains more than 4.000 vital substances and nutrients and it is also nutritionally superior compared to usual foods.

Spirulina contains:

  • 300 % more calcium than unskimmed milk
  • 2.300 % more iron than spinach
  • 3.900 % more beta-carotene than carrots
  • 375 % more protein than tofu

Further information: www.algae-facts.com

Crystal Structure of C-Phycocyanin from Spirulina Platensis.
Crystal structure of Spirulina platensis for Phycocyanin with PDB ID 1GH0 was revealed to contain 24 chains named from 1GH0A to 1GH0X. It was observed that the alternate chains consisted of same sequence however, the odd chains (1GH0A, 1GH0C, 1GH0E… 1GH0W) and even chains (1GH0B, 1GH0D, 1GH0F… 1GH0X) contained 162 and 172 amino acid residues respectively in a similar pattern. Sequence comparison revealed 100 BLAST hits and phylogenetic tree was traced for alternate chains. Similarity percentages of hits were calculated for 1GH0A chain was revealed to have 84 % hits of cyanobacterial sequences, 12 % hits of rhodophyta sequences, and 4% hits of eugliphida, cyanophora and artificial vector sequences respectively. Similarity percentages of hits were calculated for 1GH0B chain was revealed to have 73 % hits of cyanobacterial sequences, 20% hits of rhodophyta sequences, and 5% hits of cryptophyta
sequences, and 1% hits of eugliphida and 1% hits of cyanophora sequences respectively. Structure comparisons of these sequences examined by VAST showed residues of alternate entire chains from 1 to 162 and from 1 to 172 residues to contain 1323 structure neighbors. 1628 structure neighbors were found for the phycobilisome domain family which is the major accessory lightharvesting complexes of cyanobacteria and red algae.
Sequence and Structure Comparison Studies of Phycocyanin in Spirulina Platensis
Lakshmi P.T.V.1 *, Uma Maheswari S.1, Karthikeyan P.P.1, Annamalai A.2
1Phytomatics Laboratory, Department of Bioinformatics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore- 46, Tamil Nadu, India,
Fax. 0422-2424387; E-mail: lakshmiptv@yahoo.co.in,   ppkarthikeyan@gmail.com
1Department of Bioinformatics, Aloysius Institute of Computer Sciences, St. Aloysius   College, Light House Hill,
Mangalore -3, Karnataka, India. E. mail: ugdreams@gmail.com
2Plant Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, Karunya University,  Coimbatore – 114.  Tamil   Nadu, India,  E. mail: aannamalai2001@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author: Dr. Lakshmi, P.T.V.,
Email  : lakshmiptv@yahoo.co.in

 

http://www.omicsonline.org/ArchiveJCSB/2008/December/03/JCSB1.063.php