Chlorella
Chlorella is a microscopic green algae, not much larger than a red blood cell. The name of this single-celled water plant comes from the Greek chloros = green or yellow-green and –ella = small. The microalgae is spherical in shape and appears worldwide.
Chlorella is one of the most thoroughly studied plants there are. This success is primarily due to its nutritional physiological properties. In “PubMed” alone – one of the biggest online archives for scientific publications – there are now 5,463 entries for the search term “Chlorella” (as at March 31, 2017).
Microalgae are cultivated primarily in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Various cultivation methods are used: open ponds of concrete or plastic foil, fermenters or so called ‘photobioreactors’.
Name
Chlorella vulgaris
Date of birth
at least 2.5 billion years ago
Lives in
Fresh water
Color
Green, because of its high chlorophyll content
Discovered
19th century
Discoverer
M.W. Beijerinck, a Dutch biologist
Nutritional information
exceptionally rich in nutrients
Application
traditionally used in Asia as food supplements because of their nutritional physiological characteristics
Growing area
In the middle of Europe: Algenfarm Klötze (Germany)
Effects of Chlorella / detoxification
Health-related statements are difficult or almost impossible to issue due to the legal framework (e.g. the Health Claims Ordinance of EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority). For that reason, you will not find any such statements being claimed on this page.
If you are interested in this topic, please read the literature, consult your physician, alternative practitioner, or pharmacist. Or you can find out more at specialist lectures.
Chlorella vulgaris & Chlorella pyrenoidosa
The above-mentioned ‘species’ are currently the types of Chlorella most frequently found in shops. However, it has been known since 1992 (E. Kessler and V.A.R. Huss) that there is no separate species “Chlorella pyrenoidosa”. This has been confirmed in various subsequent studies. This is in fact more due to an outdated concept of a “species” that was used for various different species and strains of algae groups. The underlying species when documents mention “C. pyrenoidosa” will for example be Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella sorokiniana and Chlorella fusca.
Broken cell walls / micronization
The question frequently arises of whether the Chlorella cell walls have to be broken up in some way (in a ball mill, with ultrasound, etc.) in order to improve their digestibility or other properties.
The cell walls of our Chlorella are not broken up and indeed don’t have to be: Various investigations into this have shown: The digestibility of Chlorella is not significantly increased by breaking up its cell walls. Factors such as the drying process or the species (strain) of Chlorella used, have a greater impact. This is summarized as follows in a publication by T. Kanno (2005), stating that “The original characteristics and the physiological effects of Chlorella are not changed by breaking up the cell wall” and “It is more to be feared that the process of breaking up the cell wall may degrade proteins, destroy vitamins, and fatty acids, thereby resulting in oxidation effects.”
Chlorella & vitamin B12
The topic of the bioavailability of vitamin B12 from algae is a point of controversy. And in fact there are indeed major differences between algae with regard to the presence of various cobalamins and their bioavailability. Using the LC-MS/MS method lets us detect only the bioavailable forms in our product. Our Chlorella contains 100 μg of total vitamin B12 per 100 g of product, i.e. the recommended daily dose of 3 g of Chlorella represents 120 % of the daily requirement
Source: Biogena
Chlorella & iodine
Iodine only matters in marine algae. This element can only be found in trace amounts in freshwater algae such as Chlorella.
Composition
Chlorella vulgaris – powder (typical average composition)
per 100 g product
Moisture
Lipids
Dietary fiber
Carbohydrates
Sugars
Protein (N x 6.25)
Ash
Pigments
4 g
9 g
18 g
9 g
1 g
52 g
7 g
3 g
per 100 g product
Total chlorophyll
Total carotenoids
Lutein
2,4 g
170 mg
150 mg
per 100 g product
Vitamin K
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
Vitamin B12
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
33 µg
1 mg
610 µg
100 µg
19 mg
6 mg
per 100 g product
Calcium
Potassium
Magnesium
Iron
Zinc
316 mg
1496 mg
318 mg
112 mg
4 mg
% A.A./ ∑ A.A.
aspartic acid
threonine*
serine
glutamic acid
glycine
alanine
valine*
cysteine
methionine*
isoleucine*
leucine*
tyrosine
phenylalanine*
lysine*
histidine*
arginine
proline
tryptophan*
* essential amino acids
9,5 %
5,0 %
3,9 %
11,9 %
6,0 %
9,0 %
6,6 %
0,5 %
2,2 %
4,4 %
9,5 %
3,5 %
6,1 %
8,1 %
2,0 %
6,5 %
5,3 %
2,4 %
per 100 g product
total saturated fatty acids
total mono-unsaturated fatty acids
total polyunsaturated fatty acids
Trans fat
2,9 g
1,5 g
4,8 g
89 mg
% F.A./ ∑ F.A.
C16:0 palmitic acid
C18:0 stearic acid
C18:1 oleic acid
C18:2 linoleic acid
C18:3 α-linolenic acid
25,2 %
2,6 %
5,2 %
19,3 %
30,7 %
Thanks to our unique cultivation method and the continuous checks, we can ensure an exceptionally high level of quality in the Chlorella products. Nevertheless, we also test our products regularly for harmful substances that could potentially be present such as pesticide residues, aflatoxins, microcystins, heavy metals and others.
As with other foods, it is not in principle possible to rule out allergies, hypersensitivity and intolerance to microalgae.