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Spirulina tablets. Spirulina is the dried biomass of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that can be consumed by humans and animals. The three species are Arthrospira platensis, A. fusiformis, and A. maxima. Cultivated worldwide, Arthrospira is used as a dietary supplement or whole food. [1]
The common name, spirulina, refers to the dried biomass of Arthrospira platensis, [3] a type of Cyanobacteria, which are oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria.These photosynthetic organisms were first considered to be algae, a very large and diverse group of eukaryotic organisms, until 1962 when they were reclassified as prokaryotes and named Cyanobacteria. [4]
Chlorella seemed like a viable option because of the technological advances in agriculture at the time and the widespread acclaim it got from experts and scientists who studied it. Algae researchers had even hoped to add a neutralized Chlorella powder to conventional food products, as a way to fortify them with vitamins and minerals. [9]
The main species of microalgae grown as health foods are Chlorella and Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis). The main forms of production occur in small scale ponds with artificial mixers. [10] Arthrospira platensis is a blue-green microalga with a long history as a food source in East Africa and pre-colonial Mexico.
Chlorella: This form of alga is found in freshwater and contains photosynthetic pigments in its chloroplast. Klamath AFA: A subspecies of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae found wild in many bodies of water worldwide but harvested only from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Spirulina: Known otherwise as a cyanobacterium (a prokaryote or a "blue-green alga")
There are various present and past uses of A. platensis as food or food supplement, which is better known as 'Spirulina' in this context. Spirulina is sold as a health supplement in the form of powder or tablets due to its high levels of essential and unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, dietary minerals, and antioxidants. [5]