SPIRULINA AS A NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT FOR ENTERAL FEEDING IN INTENSIVE CARE PATIENTS: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) trauma patients are having trouble with food consumption, and due to a lack of nutrition, their recovery slows down. To improve the recovery of critically ill patients, dietary supplements have to be given externally. Such dietary supplement formulas are available on the market, but due to some limitations in nutritional values as well as preservatives, these products are not much more helpful for ICU patients’ recovery. Hence, a good dietary supplement with a normal cost is demanded in the medical field. In this investigation, a dietary supplement containing wheat flour (Triticum spp.), rice (Oryza sativa), red gram (Cicer arietinum), green gram (Vigna radiata), milk powder, cardamom, cumin, dry ginger, along with Spirulina was evaluated. The preparation was supplemented with Spirulina for the critically ill and trauma patients in the ICU. Nutritional profiling of the dietary formula was carried out, in which protein, carbohydrates, fat, calcium, magnesium, iron, riboflavin, thiamine, and niacin and their energy contents per 100 grams were determined. To confirm the safety of the product, microbiological analysis was done, and the dietary supplement was found to be safe for consumption by ICU patients.