Table 2.

Recent studies showing the application of Spirulina in food products.

Application	Species	Main results	Reference
Electrolyte replenisher, a muscle enhancer, and recovery supplement	Spirulina sp. LEB-18	Three supplements focused on athletes were fortified with Spirulina. The enriched electrolyte replenisher had higher mineral content compared to a control formulation. The addition of Spirulina in the muscle enhancer led to an increase in carbohydrate content. No significant change was observed in the enriched recovery supplement compared to the control. Like existing commercial products, the developed food supplements had an estimated shelf life of between 9 and 11 months.	Carvalho et al. (2017)
Snacks	Spirulina sp. LEB-18	The extruded snacks produced with rice and corn flour and 2.6 % of free Spirulina had a higher content of proteins, minerals, and carotenoids than a control formulation without the microalgae. Although the snacks presented a green color, the presence of Spirulina biomass in the snacks did not negatively affect the product's sensory characteristics, and the acceptance rate was greater than 82 %. In addition, the food showed physical and microbiological stability over 12 months of storage.	Lucas et al. (2018)
Dried soup	Spirulina platensis	This study formulated dehydrated soups using peach palm by-products, Spirulina and spinach. The soup developed with Spirulina and peach palm by-product flour showed higher levels of proteins, lipids and antioxidants than the other formulations. In addition, compared to the soup formulated with peach palm and spinach by-products, it had a higher chlorophyll content. Regarding the low sensory acceptance, the authors highlight the need for further studies evaluating the amount of Spirulina that can be added to soups to improve the acceptance of formulations.	Los et al. (2018)
Protein concentrate	Spirulina platensis	Spirulina proteins were extracted and concentrated to produce a protein concentrate. The green–blue concentrate showed 75.97 % of proteins and 19.44 % of carbohydrates (in dry mass). All essential amino acids were found in the protein concentrate, indicating that the product is an alternative source of proteins to supply this nutrient. Furthermore, the foaming capacity of the concentrate presented percentages that compare to the egg yolk protein. In addition to the nutritional quality, the authors also highlight the functional importance of protein concentrate and its use to improve food processes.	Menegotto et al. (2019)
Shake to replace snacks and hypercaloric food	Spirulina sp. LEB-18	Comparing the products formulated with and without Spirulina, the unenriched formulations received higher scores in the sensory evaluation. The authors attributed this result to the effect of the characteristic color and flavor of the microalgae in the formulations. However, compared with similar commercial products, functional foods developed with Spirulina biomass had better sensory acceptance. In addition, more than 65 % of the panelists indicated purchase intention for the formulated products.	Freitas et al. (2019)
Pasta	Spirulina sp.	Spirulina microalgae was microencapsulated with sodium alginate and applied in pasta formulations. The formulations containing free and encapsulated Spirulina biomass presented an acceptability index greater than 70 % for the assessed attributes (color, texture, appearance, aroma, flavor, and overall liking), indicating that the incorporation of microalgae does not have a negative impact on the acceptability of the functional product. Although microencapsulation has protected the antioxidant activity of biomass and possibly has masked the perception of fish or algae odor in the formulated dough, the panelists did not perceive the presence of free Spirulina as a negative attribute in the product, which also encourages the development of products with the addition of free Spirulina.	Zen et al. (2020)
Snack bar	Spirulina sp. LEB-18	The authors formulated cereal bars applying 2 and 6 % of free Spirulina. With the increase in the addition of Spirulina, there was a significant increase in the protein concentration of the bars, and the green color became more pronounced. In the sensory evaluation, the panelists formed by children aged between 8 and 13 years, the appearance, flavor, and aroma attributes were well accepted. In addition to acting as a natural colorant in the production of bars, Spirulina biomass is also capable of nutritionally improving the foods in which it is applied and has shown to be a promising alternative in infant feeding.	Lucas et al. (2020)
Ice cream	Spirulina sp.	The authors demonstrated that it was possible to replace emulsifiers and stabilizing agents with the phycocyanin-rich extract from Spirulina. The extract showed emulsifying activity in oil-in-water (O/W) and in water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. The addition of proteins present in the extract may have contributed to the development of texture in the product, influencing emulsification. The replacement of stabilizers and emulsifiers with phycocyanin extract did not change sensorially the overall acceptability of the product.	Rodrigues et al. (2020)
Ice cream	Spirulina platensis LEB-52	C-phycocyanin, a protein with bioactive properties, was extracted from Spirulina dry biomass, purified, and applied in an ice cream formulation. The product showed a blue color that remained stable over six months. The ice cream added with C-phycocyanin showed low antioxidant activity. However, after an in vitro digestion simulation, the product showed higher antioxidant activity than the control formulation. The authors highlight the C-phycocyanin extract as a stable colorant with biological action for application in food products and encourage studies that evaluate different colorant concentrations in the product's sensory characteristics.	de Amarante et al. (2020)
Chocolate milk	Spirulina sp. LEB-18	Spirulina biomass microencapsulated with maltodextrin and soy lecithin was incorporated into powdered chocolate milk formulations. The application of microalgae contributed to the increase in antioxidant activity, concentration of proteins and content of phenolic compounds in the formulations. In the sensory analysis, the average grades of the formulations, on a hedonic scale, indicated that the panelists neither liked nor disliked the product. Although the characteristic green color of the microalgae is not initially attractive in beverages, the formulated functional powder can be used in other food applications, such as cakes and cookies.	de Oliveira et al. (2021)
Biscuits	Spirulina maxima LEAF046	Free and encapsulated (using octenyl succinic anhydride starch) Spirulina biomass was added in biscuit formulations. A maximum of 10 % (w/w) application of free Spirulina was possible in the tested formulations. However, after the microencapsulation technique, 20 % (w/w) of Spirulina biomass was added without negative interference in the sensory quality of biscuits. Compared with the control biscuits, the samples enriched with free and encapsulated Spirulina demonstrated an average increase of 40 % in protein concentration.	da Silva, Valle, & Perrone (2021a)
Sauce	Spirulina sp.	The sauce formulated with the highest percentage of free Spirulina biomass (4 %) showed better scores for purchase intent and overall impression, being chosen as the best product evaluated. Compared to the control formulation, the sauce with 4 % of Spirulina showed higher concentrations of minerals, protein, fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, and a significant increase in antioxidant activity. In addition, the ingredients used in the sauce formulations evaluated were able to mask the characteristic flavor of the microalgae.	Almeida et al. (2021)
Snacks	Spirulina sp. LEB-18	The authors developed extruded snacks by applying, in different formulations, non-hydrolyzed Spirulina, enzymatically hydrolyzed Spirulina and peptides isolated from Spirulina. The formulations added with isolated peptides showed higher antioxidant activity than the control sample. In addition, snacks added with peptides smaller than 4 kDa had a color closer to the control sample, which may be an interesting option for application in foods without negatively affecting the product's appearance.	da Silva et al. (2021b)
Ice cream	Spirulina platensis	Different ice cream formulations were produced by assessing the addition of inulin, Spirulina, and pigment extracted from Spirulina (phycocyanin) as emulsifiers and texturing agents, reducing the addition of sugars and fat. Regarding the texture of the ice creams, the formulations with the addition of inulin and phycocyanin-rich extract had better results. Although all formulations showed good acceptability, with scores between 6 (liked moderately) and 9 (liked extremely), the addition of Spirulina changed the color of the formulations and affected consumer acceptance. The addition of phycocyanin did not have the same effect.	Faresin, Devos, Reinehr, and Colla (2022)