What is Spirulina?

Spirulina is the commonly used name for the edible biomass of Arthrospira, a group of naturally occurring, photosynthetic cyanobacteria often referred to as blue-green microalgae. Arthrospira platensis is one of the most widely cultivated species used in food, nutraceutical and wellness applications.

Under a microscope, spirulina reveals its characteristic filamentous, spiral-like structure — the feature from which its familiar name originates. Like plants, it uses photosynthesis to convert light into energy, allowing it to grow and develop in suitable aquatic environments.

What makes spirulina particularly distinctive is the concentration of naturally occurring nutrients within its biomass. It is known for its high protein content and contains naturally occurring pigments, essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Its characteristic blue-green appearance comes from its unique combination of pigments, including chlorophyll and phycocyanin.

Today, spirulina is cultivated around the world and used as an ingredient across nutritional supplements, functional foods and other nutrition-focused applications. Its composition, however, is influenced by how it is cultivated, harvested, processed and stored — making production conditions an important part of the finished ingredient.

Spirulina has its own characteristic sensory profile. Depending on the material and how it has been produced, its taste can include earthy, umami and slightly bitter or astringent notes.

These characteristics are influenced by the natural composition of the biomass as well as cultivation, harvesting and post-harvest processing. Research into spirulina's sensory chemistry shows that amino-acid composition, lipid oxidation and other biochemical changes can contribute to its characteristic flavour profile.

For food and beverage applications, this matters. A cleaner and more controlled sensory profile can make spirulina easier to formulate into nutritional products, while excessively strong or undesirable notes may become more noticeable in the finished application.

This is why careful cultivation and processing are important not only for nutritional integrity, but also for the sensory characteristics of the final ingredient.

Like taste and colour, aroma forms part of spirulina's natural sensory identity. Spirulina can have characteristic algal, earthy or marine-like aromatic notes, arising from naturally occurring volatile compounds within the biomass.

The intensity and character of these notes can vary according to cultivation conditions, harvesting, processing and storage. Research has shown that a range of volatile compounds contribute to spirulina's aroma, while biochemical changes during processing and storage can alter the finished sensory profile.

For this reason, aroma is not merely a matter of preference. It is another characteristic that can provide useful information about the consistency and handling of an ingredient.

For applications where spirulina becomes part of a larger formulation, maintaining a controlled and consistent sensory profile is particularly important.