Nutritional and toxicological importance of nickel, copper and zinc elements in spirulina platensis

Abstract

The presence of heavy metal ions in water is hazardous to one's health and the environment. Algae are frequently exposed to heavy metal pollution as a result of industrial waste dumping into water environments. Spirulina platensis, a significant kind of algae utilized commercially (especially for fish feeding) as a good source of protein, amino acids, minerals, vital unsaturated fatty acids, and a number of vitamins, was selected for this study because of its high nutritional value. This study examined how S. platensis responded to five different concentrations of the three heavy metals (nickel, copper, and zinc) in terms of its growth, fatty acid IR spectra, content, and total soluble protein profile. The remaining four doses (two higher and two lower) for each element were selected to evaluate the findings of 5 different concentrations of the three heavy metals because the EC50 for those three was almost at 2.0 mg/l. Compared to zinc and nickel, copper demonstrated a greater growth inhibitory impact as determined by optical density. Cu2+ was more noticeable than Zn2+ and Ni2+ when compared to control cells in the IR spectra, which showed the creation of new molecules and the lack of other compounds. Total fatty acids decreased under stress at all concentrations examined, while saturated fatty acids outnumbered unsaturated fatty acids. Cu2+ stress resulted in a more marked destructive effect of the heavy metal ions the protein profile than Zn2+ or Ni2+ stress.