Fresh, Frozen and Dried Spirulina: What a Storage Study Measured

Research note: This study compared biomass composition and laboratory antioxidant assays. It did not test health effects in people or SPRU products.

What the study compared

Papalia and colleagues (2019) analyzed fresh, frozen, oven-dried and freeze-dried Arthrospira platensis biomass. They measured proteins, pigments, selected compounds and antioxidant activity using more than one assay.

What they reported

Results differed by measure: the frozen sample had the highest reported C-phycocyanin, phenols and ascorbic acid; freeze-dried biomass had the highest total flavonoid amount; and the highest DPPH activity was found in fresh and freeze-dried samples. The paper therefore does not support one universal “four times more antioxidants” comparison.

Limits

The results apply to the study's samples and methods. They are not proof that every frozen product has more of every nutrient than every dried product, and they do not demonstrate a health benefit. Product-to-product claims require comparable, product-specific measurements.

Source

Papalia et al. (2019), “Impact of Different Storage Methods on Bioactive Compounds in Arthrospira platensis Biomass.”