Phycocyanin enrichment of minimally processed organic apples

Recently microalgae have become promising resources to obtain functional ingredients to be used to increase the nutritional value to foods. Spirulina platensis, also known as spirulina or Arthrospira, is a blue-green filamentous prokaryotic cyanobacterium with a protein content of 55–70%, which includes the entire range of essential amino acids, many vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and pigments such as phycocyanin. In the present study the phycocyanin was used to enrich organic fruits. For this purpose, apple tissues were selected for trials and a solution containing phycocyanin extracted from the microalgae Arthrospira platensis was used to obtain a nutrient-enriched product. The optimised vacuum impregnation (VI) process (200 mbars, 20 min) resulted in an impregnation yield of around 25%, in agreement with the level of porosity of the apple variety selected (Golden Delicious). The enriched apples were stored under refrigerated conditions and their shelf-life was monitored for 10 days. Various qualityrelated and nutritional analytical determinations were carried out throughout the storage period. In addition, the microbiological quality of the MP apples was monitored for 10 days in refrigerated conditions. Based on the physical and microbiological determinations, the shelflife of the product was set at 7 days, which is in line with similar products already on the market, but not enriched with Arthrospira platensis. The authors acknowledge the financial support for this research provided by transnational funding bodies, partners of the H2020 ERA-NETs SUSFOOD2 and CORE Organic Cofunds, under the Joint SUSFOOD2/CORE Organic Call 2019 (MILDSUSFRUIT).