Assessment of molecular and metabolic traits of a newly isolated Spirulina platensis BERC15 in a low-cost cultivation alternative for its use as functional food

Commercial cultivation of Spirulina relies on expensive chemicals. This study aimed to optimize low-cost cultivation media for upscaling of the Spirulina cultivation for food applications. Here, low-cost nitrogen source resulted in 3 gL−1 of biomass while outdoor pilot-scale cultivation produced 6.5–9.6 g−1day−1 of biomass. The growth media prepared in underground water (UGW) using commercial-grade chemicals (UGW + CC) was found to be the most suitable low-cost alternative media which produced 2.3 ± 0.28 gL−1 of biomass containing 56 ± 1.22 % proteins, 22 ± 1.88 % carbohydrates, and 12 ± 2.52 % lipids. GC–MS-based metabolomic analysis implied that only four metabolites were either down or upregulated out of 50 detected metabolites. The Hep G2 cancer cell line-based study showed 15-fold higher free radical scavenging activity in UGW + CC grown cells compared to control. This study provides a basis for process optimization towards commercial-scale cultivation of Spirulina using small and medium enterprise mode.