Everything about Chlorella totally explained
Chlorella is a
genus of single-
celled green
algae, belonging to the phylum
Chlorophyta. It is spherical in shape, about 2 to 10
μm in diameter, and is without
flagella.
Chlorella contains the green photosynthetic pigments
chlorophyll-a and -b in its
chloroplast. Through
photosynthesis it multiplies rapidly requiring only
carbon dioxide,
water,
sunlight, and a small amount of
minerals to reproduce.
The name
Chlorella is taken from the
Greek word
chloros meaning green and the
Latin diminutive suffix
ella meaning "small."
German biochemist Otto Heinrich Warburg received the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1931 for his study on photosynthesis in
Chlorella. In 1961
Melvin Calvin of the
University of California received the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on the pathways of carbon dioxide assimilation in
plants using
Chlorella. In recent years, researchers have made less use of
Chlorella as an
experimental organism because it lacks a
sexual cycle and, therefore, the research advantages of
genetics are unavailable.
Many people believed
Chlorella could serve as a potential source of food and energy because its
photosynthetic efficiency can, in theory, reach 8%, comparable with other highly efficient crops such as sugar cane. It is also an attractive food source because it's high in
protein and other essential nutrients; when dried, it's about 45%
protein, 20%
fat, 20%
carbohydrate, 5% fiber, and 10% minerals and
vitamins. However, because it's a single-celled algae, harvest posed practical difficulties for its large-scale use as a food source. Mass-production methods are now being used to cultivate it in large artificial circular ponds.
Aquarium
Chlorella can create green and opaque water problems in
aquaria.
Chlorella can grow due to high
nitrate and
phosphate levels or direct sunlight. Decreasing phosphate and nitrate by partial water change and moving the aquarium to shade can help alleviate the problem.
Chlorella as a food source
Following global fears of an uncontrollable population boom, during the late 1940s and the early 1950s
Chlorella was seen as a new and promising primary food source and as a possible solution to the then current world hunger crisis. Many people during this era thought that world hunger was a growing problem and saw
Chlorella as a way to end this crisis by being able to provide large amounts of high quality food for a relatively low cost.
Many institutions stepped up to research the algae, including the
Carnegie Institution, the
Rockefeller Foundation, the
NIH,
UC Berkeley, the
Atomic Energy Commission, and
Stanford University. Following WWII, many Europeans were starving and many
Malthusians attributed this not only to the war but to the inability of the world to produce enough food to support the currently-increasing population. According to a 1946 FAO report, the world would need to produce 25 to 35 percent more food in 1960 than in 1939 to keep up with the increasing population, while health improvements would require a 90 to 100 percent increase.
Active Ingredients:
Dried Chlorella contains: Moisture 4.6%; Protein 58.4%; Total lipid (fat) 9.3%; Carbohydrate, by difference 23.2%; Fiber, total dietary 0.3%; Ash 4.2%. Minerals (per 100g): Calcium, 221mg; Iodine 0.4mg; Iron, 130mg; Magnesium, 315mg; Phosphorus, 895mg; Zinc, 71.0mg. Vitamins: Vitamin C, 10.4mg; Niacin 23.8mg; Biotin 0.2mg; Pantothenic acid 1.1mg; Vitamin B-1 1.7; Vitamin B-2 4.3; Vitamin B-6 1.4mg; Vitamin B-12 0.13; Folate, 94mcg; Vitamin A (activity) 51,300 IU; Vitamin E >1.5mg (ate). Lipids include essential fatty acids and gamma linolenic acid (GLA). Amino acids: Tryptophan 0.5g; Threonine 2.4g; Isoleucine 2.3g; Leucine 4.7g; lysine 3.0g; Methionine 1.3g; Cystine 0.7g; phenylalanine 2.777g; tyrosine 2.6g; Valine 3.2g; Arginine 3.3g; Histidine 1.1g; Alanine 4.3g; Aspartic acid 4.7g; Glutamic acid 5.8g; Glycine 3.1g; proline 2.4g; serine 2.0g; Proline 2.5; Others 11.4. [Sourceof Information: Dr. Joseph M. Mercola 1997-2001].
Evidence of health and healing effects
The use of
Chlorella for healing effects has received criticism. However, clinical studies demonstrate healing effects of
chlorella, including
dioxin detoxification in humans and animals, healing from radiation exposure in animals and the ability to reduce high blood pressure, lower serum cholesterol levels, accelerate wound healing, and enhance immune functions in humans.
Early reception and scientific backing
When the preliminary laboratory results were published the reaction of scientific literature backed the possibilities of the supposed superfood.
Science News Letter praised the optimistic results in an article entitled "Algae to Feed the Starving." John Burlew, the reported editor of Carnegie Institute stated, "the algae culture may fill a very real need," which
Science News Letter turned into "future populations of the world will be kept from starving by the production of improved or educated algae related to the green scum on ponds." The cover of the magazine also featured Arthur D. Little's Cambridge laboratory, which was a supposed future food factory. A few years later, the magazine published an article entitled "Tomorrow's Dinner," which stated, "There is no doubt in the mind of scientists that the farms of the future will actually be factories."
Science Digest also reported, "common pond scum would soon become the world's most important agricultural crop." Yet the optimistic initial promises of the algae fell short when further testing was conducted.
Failures
Although the production of
Chlorella looked promising and involved creative technology, it wouldn't prove to be economically viable in the market. Experiencing competition with
Spirulina, soybean, and the whole-grain craze, algae products simply couldn't measure up in the health-food market. In practice, algae wasn't as cheaply or easily harvested as technicians predicted it would be 40 years earlier. The efficiency of other "normal" dietary products actually turned out to supersede that of algae growth and production. Aside from production inefficiencies,
Chlorella, as it turned out, didn't capture the benefits of photosynthesis and sunlight as predicted. After a decade of experimentation, and after exposed to sunlight,
Chlorella captured just 2.5 percent — not much better than conventional crops.
, too, was found by scientists in the 1960s to be impossible for humans and animals to digest in its natural state, which presented further problems for the use of algae in American food production.
[Further Information]
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