For a Healthy Daily Life

SuperfoodSpirulina

CONTENTS
What Is Spirulina?
❖ Big Power of Small Algae ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 3❖ Spirulina's Proﬁle ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 4

Spirulina Has Five Main Nutrients! ‥‥‥‥‥ 5
1. Rich in Good Proteins! ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 6
2. Rich in Pigments ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 6
3. Rich in Dietary Fiber ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 7
4. A Gold Mine of Minerals and Vitamins ‥‥‥‥‥ 7
5. Contains γ（Gamma）-Linolenic Acid ‥‥‥‥‥ 8
6. Produces Glycogen ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 8
7. Spirulina Is Alkaline and High in Nucleic Acid ‥‥ 9Digestibility and Nutritional Values
So Diﬀerent from Chlorella and Euglena! ‥‥ 10
For a Healthy Life
❖ Spirulina's Alkalinity Is 18 ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 12

Spirulina Can Be Produced Safely and Abundantly❖ Safety ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 13❖ Production Process ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 13

Spirulina Q & A‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ 14

What Is Spirulina?
❖ Big Power of Small Algae
See the photograph below. It is an image of spirulina
under the microscope. Its name spirulina is derived from
Latin spira, meaning "a coil," and it has a spiral shape.
Spirulina is a type of algae having a blue-greenish color
in the group of blue-green algae. Although each spirulina
cell is very small and barely visible to the eye, being 0.3 ~0.5 mm in length, it has immeasurable vital force inside.
Spirulina is now considered as a well-balanced nutritious
food beneficial to health.
Now, take a look at its secrets.

3

What Is Spirulina?

❖ Spirulina's Profile
Spirulina is the oldest plant, which appeared onearth more than three billion years ago. For an
unimaginably long period of time, it has grownnaturally in salt-water lakes in the tropical areas ofAfrica and Latin America. It grows in lakes as if bluegreen paint has been poured into them.
Since ancient times, people around such lakes haveused spirulina as food. Although they did not haveany knowledge of modern nutrition, they probably
knew from their experiences that spirulina is asuperior nutritious food.
It was 1964 when spirulina was first known to theworld. A Belgian botanist studied green dry cakes ofhigh nutritional value, called "Dihe," in Chad, Africa,
and found that they were made from spirulina.
Soon, the study of spirulina started. Scientists
around the world, including Dr. Clement of the French
Petroleum Institute, who first started the culture of
spirulina, revealed the amazing nutritional value,
digestibility and multiplication rate of spirulina
one after another. Following the Conference of theInternational Association of Applied Microbiology in
1967, the World Food Conference by the UN in 1974
and many other international conferences, the FDAof the US officially approved spirulina as a nutritious
food. NASA uses it as a space diet.
Spirulina, which has a long history of being usedby natives since ancient times, has appeared today
as a superior food after many years of study anddevelopment. Its pure culture and mass production
is now possible, and its value as "an ideal nutritious
food" is rapidly increasing.

4

Spirulina Has Five Main Nutrients!
Talking about nutritious food, many people think of eggs
and meat. Spirulina, however, has more nutrients thaneggs and meat (Table 1).
In addition to protein, saccharide, fatty acids andvitamins, spirulina abundantly contains minerals, such as
calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron, which tend
to be deficient in daily diets. It contains all five main
nutrients. Since it is easily digested, such nutrients aresmoothly absorbed in the body. It is thus called a leading
superfood or whole food.
Table 1 Main nutrients contained in 100 g of spirulina
EnergyProtein
Fat
Carbohydrate- Saccharide- Dietary fiber
Sodium(Sodium chloride equivalentCalcium
Iron
Potassium
Magnesium
Zinc
CopperManganese
Selenium
Phosphorus
Total chromium
Iodineβ -carotene
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Vitamin E
NiacinFolic acid
Pantothenic acid
BiotinVitamin K1
Vitamin K2
Inositolγ -Linolenic acid
Linoleic acid
Total carotenoid
Phycocyanin
Chlorophyll a
Nucleic acid (RNA)
Nucleic acid (DNA)260.0 ~ 390.0 kcal
51.7 ~ 80.0 g
6.7 ~ 8.3 g
10.0 ~ 15.0 g
3.3 ~ 5.0 g
6.7 ~ 10.0 g
433.3 ~ 650.0 mg
1.1 ~ 1.7 g)
263.3 ~ 495.0 mg
61.7 ~ 115.0 mg
1050.0 ~ 1800.0 mg
200.0 ~ 383.3 mg
3.3 ~ 6.7 mg
0.3 ~ 0.8 mg
1.5 ~ 8.0 mg
5.0 ~ 10.0 μg
550.0 ~ 1400.0 mg
0.5 ~ 3.3 ppm
0.0 ~ 1.7 mg
80000.0 ~ 200000.0 μg
2.2 ~ 4.8 mg
2.2 ~ 4.8 mg
0.7 ~ 1.3 mg
183.3 ~ 400.0 μg
6.3 ~ 12.0 mg
11.7 ~ 20.0 mg
133.3 ~ 300.0 μg
0.8 ~ 1.8 mg
20.0 ~ 45.0 μg1033.3 ~ 1933.3 μg
16.7 ~ 133.3 μg
65.0 ~ 140.0 mg
900.0 ~ 1833.3 mg
833.3 ~ 1666.6 mg
200.0 ~ 450.0 mg
4500.0 ~ 12000.0 mg
600.0 ~ 1250.0 mg
2200.0 ~ 3500.0 mg
600.0 ~ 1000.0 mg

5Spirulina Has Five Main Nutrients!

1.Rich in Good Proteins!
Protein is a vital component of each part of our bodies.
Spirulina contains protein three times as much as beef or
two times as much as soybeans (Table 2).
The protein contained in spirulina is also of excellent
quality. The quality of protein is determined by how
well-balanced the essential amino acids, which cannot
be synthesized in the human body, contained in it
are. Table 3 shows how good the protein containedin spirulina is. The quality of the protein satisfies thevalues recommended by FAO (the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations).
Table 2 Protein content of spirulina compared with foods
ProteinSpirulina

Soybeans

Beef

Eggs

Fish

65 ~ 70%

34.3%

19.3%

12.7%

20.0%

Table 3 Essential amino acids in foods
Spirulina

Chlorella Soybeans Beef

Eggs

Fish

FAO
value

Isoleucine

3.25 ~ 3.9% 5.5% 1.80% 0.93% 0.67% 0.83% 4.2%

Leucine

5.9 ~ 6.5

7.7

2.70

1.70

1.08

1.28

4.8

Lysine2.6 ~ 3.3

5.7

2.58

1.76

0.89

1.95

4.2

Methionine

1.3 ~ 2.0

1.5

0.43

0.43

0.43

0.58

2.2

Cystine0.5 ~ 0.7

0.4

0.48

0.23

0.35

0.38

4.2

Phenylalanine

2.6 ~ 3.3

4.1

1.98

0.86

0.65

0.61

2.8

Tyrosine

2.6 ~ 3.3

1.5

1.38

0.68

0.49

0.61

-

Threonine

3.0 ~ 3.6

4.3

1.62

0.86

0.59

0.99

2.8

Tryptophan

1.0 ~ 1.6

1.1

0.55

0.25

0.20

0.30

1.4

Valine4.0 ~ 4.6

4.9

1.86

1.05

0.83

1.02

4.2

2.Rich in Pigments
Spirulina also contains a lot of three main natural
pigments: green chlorophyll, blue phycocyanin andorange carotenoid.
These pigments play an important role of regulating the
body.

6

1) Chlorophyll has a structure similar to that ofhemoglobin in the blood and is called "the green blood."2) β -carotene is a precursor of vitamin A and has
nutritional functions same as vitamin A. β -carotene does
not have an adverse effect as vitamin A even if taken
excessively.
3) Phycocyanin has a vivid blue color and is used as anatural food color for frozen desserts.

3.Rich in Dietary Fiber
Spirulina contains about 5 ~ 12% dietary fiber, whichis composed of 80% pectin, a soluble dietary fiber, and
20% cellulose, an insoluble dietary fiber. On the other
hand, the cell membranes of chlorella is composed only ofcellulose.

4.A Gold Mine of Minerals and Vitamins
Spirulina contains a variety of vitamins: β -carotene,
vitamins B1, B2, B6 and B12, vitamin E, niacin, folic acid,
pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamins K1 and K2 and inositol.
Especially, β -carotene is abundant, about 16 times asmuch as carrot or about 26 times as much as spinach.
Spirulina contains all B vitamins (vitamin B1, vitamin
B2, vitamin B6, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin,
vitamin B12 and folic acid), any of which alone isdifficult to display its effects. While vitamin B12 is very
difficult to take from vegetable foods, spirulina contains it
more than five times as much as beef liver.
Minerals contained in spirulina are calcium, iron,
phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, io dine, copper,
selenium, manganese and chromium. Althoughminerals are not the nutrients which can be converted
into energy, they are closely related to bones, cells

7

Spirulina Has Five Main Nutrients!

and hormones, and regulate the functions of the body.
Although the necessary amount of each mineral issmall, taking too little or too much minerals causestroubles in the body. Since these minerals function wellby interacting with each other, taking spirulina, whichcontains all of them, allows you to easily maintain yourhealth.

5.Contains γ (Gamma)-Linolenic Acid
Spirulina contains about 7% fat. In addition to fatty acids
such as linoleic acid, arachidonic acid and palmitic acid, it
contains γ -linolenic acid, which is a polyunsaturated fatty
acid contained in mother's milk. Through metabolism,
γ-linolenic acid is converted into prostaglandin E1,
which is a physiologically active substance necessary for
maintaining health.
Table 4 Comparison of fatty acid contents in fat
Essential fatty acid

Linoleic acid

γ -linolenic acidSpirulina

44.6%

21.7%

22.9%

Human milk

16.7%

15.1%

1.6%

Cow milk

1.3%

1.3%

minute6.Produces Glycogen
Normally, plants produce starch (carbohydrate) throughphotosynthesis and store it as nutrition. On the other
hand, spirulina produces glycogen, instead of starch,through photosynthesis. It is thought that spirulina
produces and stores glycogen, which is normally found inanimals, because it is a prehistoric organism (plant) whichappeared on earth before the differentiation into plants
and animals occurred. This is a spirulina's wonder andmysterious characteristic.
In our bodies, glycogen is stored in the liver and the8muscles and gradually decomposed to be used as energy.
This is why glycogen is called "muscle gasoline" or "animal
starch." Besides spirulina, foods containing glycogenabundantly are shellfish, shrimps and liver.

7.Spirulina Is Alkaline and High in Nucleic Acid
Each human cell has a cell nucleus at its center. There
are two types of nucleic acid: deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA), which exists within the nucleus, and ribonucleic
acid (RNA), which exists both inside and outside thenucleus. Spirulina contains both nucleic acids. Nucleic
acids are necessary for cells to renew themselves and arealso essential nutrients to allow B vitamins to function
efficiently.
100 g of spirulina contain about 2,850 mg of RNA andabout 800 mg of DNA.
The metabolism of nucleic acids eventually produces uricacid in the body. While too much uric acid causes "gout,"
spirulina is an alkaline food of alkalinity 18 and can besafely taken even by those having high uric acid values.

9Digestibility and Nutritional Values
So Different from Chlorella and Euglena!
Many of you might wonder what is the difference among
chlorella, euglena and spirulina. It's true that their tablets
have similar ingredients, colors and shapes. However,chlorella belongs to the group of green algae, spirulina
to the group of blue-green algae, and euglena is a singlecelled microorganism (monad). They are different inmany ways.
Spirulina

Chlorella

Euglena

Appeared ~ 3.5 bn yrs ago~ 2 bn yrs ago~ 0.5 bn yrs ago

Massculture

1951

2005

Green algae

MonadSpherical

Spindleshaped:columnar
tapered at the ends.
Swims with aflagellum andmoves by changing
its shape of cell:
called “euglenoid
movement.”

1975

Classification Blue-green algae

Shape

SpiralImage

Photo by NEON
Yellowish green withshining paramylon
insideColor

Blue-green

Green

Size

0.3 ~ 0.5 mm inlength. Large algae
and easy to collect.

About 0.002 ~ 0.01 About 0.03 ~mm in diameter.
0.05 mm, 1/10 ofVery small andspirulina. Necessary
necessary to separate to separate with awith a centrifuge.
centrifuge.

Habitat

Salt-water lakes
in tropical areas.
(strongly alkalinelake)
Grows only in strongly alkaline (pH
9 ~ 11) water at
32 ~ 42℃ (otherorganisms cannotlive).

Fresh water. Grows Fresh water. Grows
mostly in any habitat mostly in any habitat(even in a tank with (some types live inlittle light).
the sea).

10

Spirulina

Chlorella

Euglena

Produces glycogen,which is readily usedas energy (while orPhotosynthesis dinary plants
Produces starch.
producestarch throughphotosynthesis).

Produces starch. It isthought that "paramylon" (a β -glucan
polymer) is produced
to store the produced
starch.

Chlorophyll,
Pigments Carotenoid,
Phycocyanin

Chlorophyll,
Carotenoid

Time
first
used asfood

Chlorophyll,
Carotenoid

Has been eaten as
food since ancient
times around its
habitats in Mexico
Has no history as
Has no history as
and Africa (has a
food.
food in ancienthistory as food for a
After 2005, capsuletimes. It has become
few thousand years).
supplements containpopular after its
It became known toing euglena andmass culture was
the modern society
other ingredients
made possible.
after chlorella, andhave been popular.
thus the time of its
mass culture waslater than chlorella.

1. Contains good
1. Superior
1. Superior
protein much and a nutritional balance. nutritional balance.
variety of vitamins
2. Low digestibility
2. Highly digestible,
and minerals.
and tends to cause
about 93%
2. Highly digestible, green stools.
3. Contains
about 95%.
3. Digestibility isparamylon, DHA and3. Has a long history about 65% (forEPA.
as edible algae andproducts in which
4. Evidence is notthus its evidence iscell walls have been enough.
plenty.
broken).
5. No product of
4. Has high contents 4. Tends to cause
100% euglena.
of nucleic acids, SOD green stools.
6. Does not easily
Characteristics enzyme, chlorophyll, 5. Flavor is similar to cause green stools.
phycocyanin,
powdered green tea. 7. Has bitterness.
β -carotene and6. Acid (acidity 24).
γ -lenolenic acid.
5. Disadvantage: thevitamin C content isvery low.
6. Does not cause
green stools.
7. Flavor is similar toseaweed.
8. Alkaline (alkalinity
18)
Main
product
type
in themarketMainly capsule type
Mostly pure type Mostly pure typecontaining other(100% spirulina)(100% chlorella)
ingredients11For a Healthy Life
❖ Spirulina's Alkalinity Is 18
Another value of spirulina is that it is alkaline.
Today's dietary life is full of acid foods, such as meat,
instant foods and sweet foods, and tends to lack alkaline
foods, such as vegetables and seaweeds (Figure 1).
Taking spirulina helps you to make your diet morebalanced for a healthy life.
Fig. 140

3530acidity

25

20

15

10

5

0

food

alkaline foodspirulina
40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

chlorellayolkbrown ricetuna
octopuschickenoystersalmonbuckweatporkpeanutdried seaweed
beefbroad beanpolished ricecheeseshrimp

24
19.17
15.47
15.28
12.78
10.41
8
7.9
7.72
6.16
5.4
5.25
5
4.35
4.31
4.3
3.18

eggplant
1.93
cucumber
2.16
grape
2.25
wine
2.43
persimmon
2.66
apple
3.44
mandarin orange
3.6
shimeji mashroom 3.67
sweet potato
4.27
pumpkin4.35
cabbage
4.86
potato5.35
strawberry
5.61
carrot6.4
azuki bean
7.34
taro
7.72
banana8.82
soybean10.2
spinach15.6
shiitake mashroom 17.48
spirulina
18
common bean
18.82
tangle38.9* The ﬁgures above do not show pH of the foods but their acidity or alkalinity,which are obtained by measuring water solutions of their ash remaining after being burned (express the acidity or alkalinity of not the foods
themselves but the minerals in the foods).

12

Spirulina Can Be Produced
Safely and Abundantly❖ Safety
Strong drugs may have strong side effects. On the other
hand, spirulina is a natural food which have been used asfood since ancient times. It is thus gentle and harmless tothe human body.
The method of its culture and production is also safeand hygienic. Spirulina has been proved to be a safe
food through strict toxicity tests by various researchorganizations.

❖ Production Process
The production of spirulina consists mainly of four
processes: 1) culture, 2) filtration, 3) washing anddehydration and 4) drying.

Outdoor culture pond of spirulina

1) Culture: Spirulina is cultured under the same condition
as its original habitat, salt-water lakes, in tropical areas. An
alkaline culture solution with nutrition is poured into a wide
shallow culture pond, which is stirred by gentle streams. This
allows spirulina to efficiently carry out photosynthesis and tomultiply.
2) Filtration: Spirulina of 1) multiplies in the form of algae. It
is then separated from the culture solution through filtration.
3) Washing and Dehydration: The condensed spirulina of 2)
is placed on vacuum dehydration filter and repeatedly washedwith clean water and dehydrated.
4) Drying: The dehydrated spirulina is instantaneously dried
with a spray dryer and made into fine powder.

13

Spirulina Q & A● At what time of the day should I take spirulina?
You can take spirulina at any time. It is a food and has no specificrule like drugs. You can take it at convenient time for you: before
or after eating meal or between meals.
● Can small children take spirulina?
Small children can take spirulina. The amount would be about halfthat for adults.
Products of 100% spirulina are made only from "algae" calledspirulina. You can think that you take a certain amount (grams) of
spirulina a day in the same way as you eat vegetable or seaweed.
Since a tablet of our product weighs 200 mg, 40 tablets become 8 gof spirulina.
The best way for children's health and growth is not to force themto take too much but to allow them to take an amount comfortable
for them each day. You can change their daily amount dependingon their physique, activity amount and liking.
● Can pregnant women take spirulina?
Pregnant women can take 100% spirulina. There are, however,some spirulina products containing additional ingredients whichshould be avoided by pregnant women. Read carefully the
explanation and instruction of the product you purchased.
● Can I take spirulina in a large amount?
In case of 100% spirulina, taking it in a large amount (roughly
more than 50 tablets a day) will not cause any harm to yourhealth. However, spirulina is not such a food as to bring a better
effect quickly or to improve your health problems quickly even if
taken in a large amount. The human body has a limit of nutrition
absorption, and taking in nutrition beyond the limit only causes the
body to discharge it as unnecessary. The best way to improve yourhealth is to continue to take a proper amount everyday.
● Taking 40 tablets everyday is not easy.
Taking 40 tablets a day is only a guide. In case of 100% spirulina,
it is OK to take a rough amount. You can take an amount you think
good for you, whether 5 tablets, 10 tablets or 20 tablets a day. You
can also change the daily amount depending on your physique,activity amount, meal amount and degree of tiredness.
● Taking spirulina caused blackish stools.
Since spirulina contains pigments abundantly, taking it may cause
dark stools depending on other food you eat. Although it is nottrouble, you can reduce your daily amount if you do not like it.
● Taking spirulina has made my palms yellowish.
Spirulina contains β-carotene abundantly. Eating a lot of green
and yellow vegetable or citrus fruit, which contains β -carotene
abundantly, at times causes yellowish palms. This is called
aurantiasis. The color of the palms will go back to normal if theamount of taking spirulina, green and yellow vegetable, its juice or
citrus fruit is reduced. The amount of β -carotene contained in 100
g of spirulina is about 20 ~ 30 mg, and that in 40 tablets (8 g) isabout 1.6 ~ 2.4 mg.

14● The color of tablets in a transparent container has become bluish.
Spirulina contains natural pigments (green, blue, yellow and brown).
If it is placed in a bright environment for a long time, the surface
color of the tablet fades and becomes bluish. Even if the surfaceis bluish, you can still take the tablet if its inside is still green. It is
recommended to store spirulina tablets in a lightproof container oraluminum bag.
● Why are spirulina tablets subtly different in color?
Spirulina tablets have deeper or lighter colors, mainly because theirwater contents are different. Depending on the environments ofthe process of washing after harvesting, drying and forming into
tablets, the produced spirulina tablets have slightly different watercontents and colors. In addition, different culture environments may
bring different contents of pigments.
● Why are the nutritional values of spirulina given in ranges?
Unlike industrial products, the contents of nutrients and pigmentsin spirulina slightly vary depending on the time of harvesting andweather conditions. The nutritional values therefore vary fromproduction to production. This is why we show the nutritional
values in ranges.
● I don't like the spirulina's odor much.
Spirulina has a particular odor like a smell of the sea, which somepeople do not like very much. Such people may take spirulina insoup such as miso soup. Putting it in vegetable juice or yogurt
drink also reduces its particular smell, making it easier to take.
● How does spirulina go with medicines?
People who take anticoagulants, such as warfarin, or those whohave been instructed by doctors to refrain from natto(fermented
soy beans), green juice and chlorella should not take spirulina. Thisis because vitamin K, which is contained in spirulina abundantly,
weakens the effect of such drugs.
In addition, those who are receiving medical treatment for serious
illness are recommended to consult their doctors.
● I am photosensitive. Is it OK to take spirulina?
Chlorophyll in spirulina may affect photosensitivity. You should
refrain from taking spirulina.
● I threw up after I took spirulina.
Spirulina does not seem to agree with you. Refrain from taking it.
There is data showing that people who throw up after taking even asmall amount (1 ~ 5 tablets) of spirulina tend to be short of gastricacid. If gastric acid is not enough, spirulina cannot be digested andmay rush back or cause green stools.
Whether your gastric acid is enough or not can be examinedwith baking soda water. If you burp a few minutes after drinking
baking soda water, your secretion of gastric acid is normal. If you
do not burp even 30 minutes after drinking baking soda water,
it is possible that you are short of gastric acid. In such a case, it
is recommended to take spirulina together with water containing
citric acid, lemon juice or vitamin C.

15

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