Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1487778
This article is part of the Research Topic Microalgae as Sustainable Food Resources: Prospects, Novel Species, Bioactive Compounds, Cultivation Process and Food Processing View all 6 articles

Ingestion of 'whole cell' or 'split cell' Chlorella sp., Arthrospira sp., and milk protein show divergent postprandial plasma amino acid responses with similar postprandial blood glucose control in humans

Provisionally accepted
Ellen Williamson Ellen Williamson 1,2Alistair J. Monteyne Alistair J. Monteyne 1Ino Van Der Heijden Ino Van Der Heijden 1Doaa R. Abdelrahman Doaa R. Abdelrahman 3Andrew J. Murton Andrew J. Murton 3Ben Hankamer Ben Hankamer 2Francis B. Stephens Francis B. Stephens 1Benjamin T. Wall Benjamin T. Wall 1*
  • 1 University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
  • 2 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
  • 3 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Microalgae provide a sustainable basis for protein-rich food production. However, human data concerning microalgae ingestion, subsequent postprandial amino acid (AA) availability and associated metabolic responses are minimal. We investigated ingesting Arthrospira sp. (spirulina;SPR), and Chlorella sp. (chlorella; in 'whole cell' [WCC] and 'split cell' [SCC] forms, the latter proposed to improve digestibility), compared with with a high-quality animal derived protein source (milk; MLK). Ten participants (age; 21±1y, BMI; 25±1kg•m -2 ) completed a randomised, crossover, double-blind study, partaking in 4 counterbalanced (for order) experimental visits. At each visit participants ingested SPR, WCC, SCC or MLK drinks containing 20g protein and 75g carbohydrate. Arterialised venous blood samples, indirect calorimetry and visual analogue scales were assessed postabsorptive, and throughout a 5h postprandial period to measure AA, glucose, insulin and uric acid concentrations, whole-body energy expenditure and appetite scores, respectively. Protein ingestion increased plasma AA concentrations (P<0.001) to differing total postprandial total-and essential-AA availabilities; highest for MLK (86.6±17.8mmol.L -1 ) and SPR (84.9±12.5mmol•L -1 ), lowest for WCC (-4.1±21.7mmol•L -1 ; P<0.05), with SCC (55.7±11.2mmol•L - 1 ) marginally greater than WCC (P=0.09). No differences (P>0.05) were detected between conditions for postprandial glucose or insulin concentrations, whole-body energy expenditure or appetite scores, but serum uric acid concentrations increased (P<0.05) following microalgae ingestion only. Our data imply that microalgae can present a bioavailable source of protein for human nutrition, however, challenges remain, requiring species selection and/or biomass processing to overcome.

    Keywords: Alternative protein1, algal protein2, microalgae protein3, sustainable food4, protein ingredient5

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Williamson, Monteyne, Van Der Heijden, Abdelrahman, Murton, Hankamer, Stephens and Wall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Benjamin T. Wall, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.