Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37368655›Full record

ArticleToxins2023

Microcystins and Cyanobacterial Contaminants in the French Small-Scale Productions of Spirulina (

Pierre-Etienne Pinchart, Amandine Leruste, Vanina Pasqualini, Felice Mastroleo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Toxins, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Pierre-Etienne PinchartUMR 6134 SPE, Université de Corse Pasquale Paoli (UCPP), 20250 Corte, France.ORCID 0009-0003-1196-0410
Amandine LerusteFédération des Spiruliniers de France (FSF), 34800 Clermont-l'Hérault, France.
Vanina PasqualiniUMR 6134 SPE, Université de Corse Pasquale Paoli (UCPP), 20250 Corte, France.ORCID 0000-0001-5919-4805
Felice MastroleoMicrobiology Unit, Nuclear Medical Applications, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK CEN, 2400 Mol, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-9815-8038

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spirulina is consumed worldwide, in the form of food or dietary supplements, for its nutritional value and health potential. However, these products may contain cyanotoxins, including hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs), produced by cyanobacterial contaminants. The French spirulina market has the particularity of being supplied half-locally by approximately 180 small-scale spirulina production farms. Data about this particular production and possible contaminations with other cyanobacteria and MCs are scarce. Thus, we collected the results of MC analyses and total cyanobacteria counts, carried out between 2013 and 2021, from 95 French spirulina producers who agreed to share their data. These data consisted of MC concentrations determined with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using 623 dry spirulina samples and 105 samples of spirulina cultures. In addition, potentially unsafe samples of dry spirulina were further investigated through mass spectrometry, as duplicate analysis. We confirmed that the situation of the French spirulina production stayed within the safe regulatory level in terms of MC levels. On the other hand, the inventory of cyanobacterial contaminants, based on 539 count results, included 14 taxa. We present their prevalence, interannual evolution and geographical distribution. We also suggested improvements in cultivation practices to limit their propagation.

Indexed as

MicrocystinsSpirulinaCyanobacteria ToxinsDietary SupplementsMass SpectrometryCyanobacteria ToxinsMicrocystinsBGASCyanobiumCyanodictyoncyanotoxinsGomontiellaJaaginemaLeptolyngbyaPhormidiumPlanktolyngbyaPseudanabaena

Identifiers

PMID37368655
PMCPMC10302721

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.