# Profiling the Spirulina Dietary Supplements Available on the Romanian Market
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Analysis of Spirulina Profile
The obtained markers for the packaging material of the spirulina samples through the application of one-way ANOVA corresponded to Pb (\(p\) = 1.53 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-5}\)), price (\(p\) = 3.46 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-5}\)), Ba (\(p\) = 0.04 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-2}\)), Cr (\(p\) = 0.04), Mo (\(p\) = 0.04), and Zn (\(p\) = 0.04). As shown in Figure 5, the higher Pb concentrations found in samples having paper packages could be an indicator of Pb contamination from packaging paper to spirulina [38,39]. Glass packaging could have higher concentrations of Cr due to impurities in raw materials [40], while in HDPE materials, Cr compounds could be used as the catalyst during production [41]. Ultimately, it was noted that the highest selling price occurred for the spirulina samples packaged in HDPE material, followed by PETE, PET, glass, and blister packs. The most affordable rates, as anticipated, were noted for spirulina packaged in plastic and paper materials. In this context, it is important to note that the most beneficial packaging for powdered spirulina is plastic or paper pouches. For spirulina marketed in tablet or capsule form, the optimal and transit-secure packaging options are jars and blister packs, with PET jars being the most secure for transportation, and glass jars are regarded as premium merchandise, used in marketing strategies to make them more appealing to costumers. Since glass and blister packs are more expensive to produce than PET or HDPE bottles, but the price of spirulina remains similar, the packaging is just one of the factors driving the product's price, with other factors that influence the market share being the cultivation and processing practices, branding, distribution, and marketing. Figure 4: Distribution of price and Pb, Cr, and Zn contents across different spirulina packaging types in the investigated commercial sample set. Figure 3: Distribution of price and K and Pb contents across different spirulina types (i.e., capsule, tablet, and powder) in the investigated commercial sample set. Significant differences between samples originating from the EU and the ones having other geographical origins were found in regard to Ca content (\(p\) = 0.09 \(\times\) 10\({}^{-2}\)), as shown in Figure 6. Therefore, spirulina produced in the EU showed higher concentrations of this macro-mineral, a fact that can be correlated to different cultivation techniques that can optimize nutrient availability; distinct water composition of the growth medium and particular processing methods such as drying techniques that can cause mineral loss. All of these pay an important role in enhancing the concentration levels of Ca in the EU samples, while decreasing the concentration in non-EU spirulina. Nonetheless, ANOVA revealed that in the frame of the investigated sample set, no significant differences in regard to the \({}^{13}\)C fingerprint and elemental composition can be found between organic-labeled spirulina and samples without a specified growing regime. Figure 5: Distribution of Pb concentrations, price, and Ba and Cr contents across different spirulina packaging materials in the investigated commercial sample set. Figure 6: Distribution of Ca content across the geographical origins of the investigated commercial samples. The price of spirulina without a specified growing regime was generally higher than the samples produced under an organic regime (\(p=0.01\)), as shown in Figure 7. However, as spirulina can be regarded as organic by nature due to the fact that it is a cyanobacterium growing with no need for pesticides or fertilizers, the obtainment of price as relevant growing regime discriminator can be rather attributed to other factors, such as those previously described. In a 2007 study [42] carried out for the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) of the European Commission by European Advisory Services (EAS), spirulina is mentioned as a miscellaneous bioactive substance along with lutein, chitosan, lycopene, and Coenzyme Q10.