Chlorella

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 This is in fact more due to an outdated concept of a “species” that was used for various different species and strains of algae groups.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.

Chlorella unter dem Mikroskop

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.

 
GLS DHL
Deutschland Österreich Deutschland Österreich
bis 2 Kg 4,17 7,80 5,49 13,99
bis 5 Kg 4,67 8,35 6,99 15,99
bis 10 Kg 6,25 9,55 9,49 20,99
bis 15 Kg 7,45 10,78
bis 20 Kg 31,99
bis 25 Kg 11,69 12,56
bis 31,5 Kg 16,49 44,99