Investigating the Effect of Spirulina platensis Micro Algae on Physio-chemical Properties and Staling of Baguette Bread

Microalgae are natural nutrients that can be used to develop new foods. Spirulina platensis is one of the most important microalgae that the World Health Organization has identified as «superior food» on Earth, as well as «the best solution for tomorrow». In this study, ethanol and methanol extracts and powder of Spirulina platensis microalga were added to bulk bread formulation and its effect on the physio-chemical properties of bread was investigated. The results showed that the addition of spirulina to bread formulation increased the pH. The highest amount of water activity was observed in methanol extracts of spirulina. Other treatments showed no significant difference in terms of water activity. The use of Spirulina in bulk bread reduced bread firmness at the end of the storage period compared to control treatment and played an important role in controlling the staling of bread. In general, the results of this study showed that spirulina powder had the greatest role in decreasing the Firmness Whereas, methanol extract had the highest moisture retention during storage but due to the dark green color in the samples containing microalgae powder, the use of the extract is recommended.