ChlorellaThe name Chlorella is derived from two Latin words meaning 'leaf' (green) and 'small', referring to the unusually high content of chlorophyll (the highest of any known plant), which gives it the characteristic deep emerald green colour. The tiny creature are freshwater unicellular, microscopic algae with an ability to reproduce rapidly. These are quite distinct from Spirulina which is multicellular cyanobacteria.
This single celled alga is believed by some scientists to be among the Earth's oldest living organisms. There are two ways things generally reproduce, one is sexual reproduction and other is asexual reproduction. This cell reproduces asexuallly and divides four times every 20-24 hours. One cell reproduces 4 new cells the next day and 16 cells the day after... It seems it has been reproducing like this for billions of years.
It was only during the 1960's that Japanese scientists began to look this algae in the context of health. Natural health enthusiasts speak about it as a detoxifier, immune stimulator, improving control of hypertension, fibromyalgia, ulcerative colitis and as an excellent source of general nutrition. The supplement has been developed as tablets, capsules, an extract liquid or a food additive.
Although Chlorella is small, 3 to 8 micrometers in diameter it is also covered by a tough outer cell wall protecting in the internal organs from environmental changes outside. This reduces the ability of the human body to uptake the nutrients. All good products on the market ‘çrack’ this outer shell, and sometimes this is achieved by a high impact cryogenic jet-spray process that pulverizes the algae wall, enhancing digestability. For those wishing to grow this form of algae at home in a
photobioreactor
the harvested product would need to be milled to ensure the outer shell is broken. There is also plenty of discussion that the product can’t be left to long if milled as the goodness appears to dissipate more rapidly than when it is cracked.
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