Spirulina in bread: nutrition, texture and consumer liking
What it found
Adding spirulina powder to wheat bread raised protein, fibre and antioxidant levels but made the bread darker, greener and harder, and a 2.5% addition lowered overall liking in a small taste panel.
What they found
Studies in people
Consumer liking
In 33 untrained consumers, external appearance scores fell for all spirulina breads (3.21–3.55) compared to the control (4.21). The 2.5% bread had the lowest taste score (3.67) and was least liked for colour (3.15).
Other findings
Protein and fibre up
Protein rose significantly at 1.0% and 2.5% spirulina (12.52% and 13.51%) compared to the control. Fibre was significantly higher only in the 2.5% bread (1.40%) than the control (1.10%).
Carbohydrate and energy down
Carbohydrate content fell as spirulina increased. The 2.5% spirulina bread had a significantly lower energy value (251.72 kcal) than the control (256.13 kcal).
Antioxidants and polyphenols
The highest antioxidant content was in the 2.5% spirulina bread (0.74 mg AAE/g) compared to the control (0.40 mg AAE/g). Polyphenols were highest in the 1.0% bread (0.74 mg GAE/g) but significantly lower in the 2.5% bread (0.62 mg GAE/g) than the control (0.69 mg GAE/g).
Texture changes
Hardness, cohesiveness and springiness increased with spirulina, while gumminess and chewiness were lower than the control. For example, gumminess fell to 5.10–6.30 N/m2 versus 7.50 N/m2 in the control.
Colour darker and greener
The 2.5% spirulina bread was darker (L* 52.75) than the control (L* 85.51). Greenness increased (a* -2.66 at 2.5% versus -0.96 in the control) and yellow hue rose from 18.19 to 22.44.
What the authors conclude
“Our results indicate that spirulina algae can be a good ingredient for bread making, contributing to healthier and more sustainable diets.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that spirulina algae can be a good ingredient for bread making, contributing to healthier and more sustainable diets.
- They acknowledge the small sensory panel size as a limitation.
- They suggest future research should explore mixing spirulina with spices or other flavourings to improve palatability and consumer acceptance.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see how using Spirulina platensis in bread affects consumer liking and the bread's physical and chemical properties, as algae are a promising ingredient for new foods.
They baked wheat bread with spirulina powder at 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.5% instead of some flour, plus a control without spirulina. They measured the bread's composition, texture, colour, antioxidants and polyphenols, and asked 33 untrained consumers (15 men, 18 women, average age 24) to rate appearance, texture, odour, taste and colour.
What it can’t tell you
- The taste test used only 33 young untrained consumers, so it may not reflect how the wider public would rate the bread.
- The study measured bread properties and liking, not health effects in people eating the bread over time.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declarations. Competing interest: The authors declare no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Széchenyi István University, Hungary
The paper
- Title
- Effect of Spirulina platensis on the content values of wheat bread
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Takács G, Sik B, Székelyhidi R (2026). Effect of Spirulina platensis on the content values of wheat bread. Scientific reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-43788-yFree full textPubMed 41866394DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error