Arthrospira: Difference between revisions

The common name, [[Spirulina (dietary supplement)|spirulina]], refers to the dried biomass of ''A.Arthrospira platensis'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gershwin |first1=ME |last2=Belay |first2=A |date=2007|title=Spirulina in human nutrition and health | publisher= CRC Press, USA}}</ref> which belongs to the oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria that cover the groups [[Cyanobacteria]] and Prochlorales. These photosynthetic organisms were first considered to be algae, a very large and diverse group of [[Eukaryote|eukaryotic]] organisms, until 1962 when they were reclassified as [[Prokaryote|prokaryotes]] and named Cyanobacteria.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stanier |first1=RY |last2=Van Niel |first2=Y |title=The concept of a bacterium |journal=Arch Mikrobiol |volume=42 |pages=17–35 |date=January 1962 |doi=10.1007/bf00425185 |pmid=13916221}}</ref> This designation was accepted and published in 1974 by ''[[Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology]]''.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |last1=Sánchez |first1=Bernal-Castillo |last2=Van Niel |first2=J |last3=Rozo |first3=C | last4=Rodríguez |first4=I |title=Spirulina (arthrospira): an edible microorganism: a review |journal=Universitas Scientiarum |volume=8 | issue=1 |pages=7–24 |date=2003}}</ref> Scientifically, quite a distinction exists between the ''Spirulina'' and ''Arthrospira'' genera. Stizenberger, in 1852, gave the name ''Arthrospira'' based on the presence of septa, its helical form, and its multicellular structure, and [[Maurice Gomont|Gomont]], in 1892, confirmed the aseptate form of the genus '' Spirulina''. Geitler in 1932 reunified both members designating them as ''Spirulina'' without considering the septum.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|url = http://www.iapen.co.in/jnutres/34-98-6-PB.pdf|title = Spirulina in combating Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) and Protein Energy Wasting (PEW) - A review|last = Siva Kiran|first = RR|author2=Madhu GM|author3=Satyanarayana SV|date = 2016|journal = Journal of Nutrition Research|access-date = February 20, 2016}}</ref> Research on [[microalgae]] was carried out in the name of ''Spirulina'', but the original species used to produce the dietary supplement spirulina belongs to the genus ''Arthrospira''. This misnomer has been difficult to correct.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> At present, taxonomy states that the name spirulina for strains which are used as food supplements is inappropriate, and agreement exists that ''Arthrospira'' is a distinct genus, consisting of over 30 different species, including ''A. platensis'' and ''A. maxima''.<ref>