RP can produce Spirulina

Are you familiar with Spirulina?

It is a microscopic, spiral-shaped blue-green algae which is known as one of the most nutritious, concentrated whole foods of humankind.

Although the earliest record of its use was as food to the natives of Africa and South America, it has in recent years been gaining worldwide popularity as a food supplement.

It was in the 1960s that the science community began to recognize Spirulina when it was found to have a high protein content of excellent quality and digestibility, and a unique composition of fatty acids and vitamins.

Today, Spirulina is being consumed and approved as fit for human consumption by health agencies and associations in more than 70 countries.

Scientists have found that Spirulina contains protein (64-74 percent of dry weight), B-carotene, vitamins (A, E, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, K, inositol), minerals (sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc) and many commercially important products.

It is said to be the best food source of essential fatty acids, particularly y-linolenic acid (GLA), because it does not contain cholesterol.

Much of the Spirulina needed by the Philippines is imported.

But the country can produce the algae, pointed out a study done under the auspices of the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) in Diliman, Quezon City.

The research involved Dr. Perlita Tiburcio of the Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU); Dr. Victor Gavino of the Universiti de Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and Lourdes Cruz of the UP-MSI Community-based Marine Sanctuary (CBMS) program.

The study won the first prize in the NARRDS Best Research Papers Award for 2005 sponsored by the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (DOST-PCAMRD) during the observance of its 18th anniversary last Jan. 30-31.

The study aimed to determine the fatty acid profile of a pure culture of Spirulina plantensis isolate EL2 grown in a raceway using seawater-based CBMS medium in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental (Northern Mindanao).

Physico-chemical and microbiological analyses showed that freshly harvested Spirulina plantensis EL2 biomass meets the international chemical, microbiological, and biochemical quality standards set for food-grade Spirulina, the researchers reported.

"The negative coliform count indicates that the material is microbiologically safe for human consumption," they added.

They concluded that since the locally grown Spirulina produces the desired fatty acid profile, it should be commercially produced in stead of importing the expensive ones. "Its use as a functional food should likewise be promoted among vulnerable groups, particularly those suffering from cardiovascular diseases, the number one killer disease in the country today." – Rudy A. Fernandez