Spirulina (scientific name: Spirulina) is a class of lower organisms, prokaryotic organisms, composed of single-cell or multi-cellular filamentous body, body length 200-500μm, width 5-10μm, cylindrical, was loose or tightly regular spiral spiral curved, in the shape of a clockwork clockwork, and so named. It has the effect of reducing the toxic side effects of cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy, improving immune function and lowering blood lipids.

Spirulina, also known as "section spinning algae". Cyanobacteria, trematode family. Algae body for a single column of cells composed of unbranched filaments, gelatinous sheaths without or only very thin sheaths, and a regular spiral to form algal colonization segment reproduction. No anamorphic cells or post-wall spores. About 38 species, most of which grow in alkaline salt lakes. At present, there are large-scale artificial cultivation at home and abroad, mainly for blunt-topped spirulina, great spirulina and Indian spirulina three. It is edible and rich in nutrients, with protein content as high as 60%-70%. In natural waters, its massive reproduction will form water bloom.

Basic introduction Chinese name: Spirulina Latin name: Spirulina binomial name: Spirulina platensis World: Botany Phylum: Cyanobacteria Phylum: Cyanobacteria Program: Cyanobacteria Family: Trichoderma Genus: Spirulina Species: Spirulina Distribution: Yunnan, Guangxi, Fujian, Shandong Morphological features, distribution, growth environment, chemical composition, cultivation technology, the main value, health effects, medicinal effects, and the main value of Spirulina. Health effects, Pharmacological effects, Plant culture, History of consumption, History of discovery, Nutritional composition, Morphological features Multi-cellular algal bodies, cylindrical spiral filaments, solitary or clustered aggregates, filaments 5-10 μm in diameter, apex obtuse, number of spirals 2-7. The algal body can quiver and rotary movement, often like around a longitudinal axis like quickly rotating, crawling forward. The cell contents are uniform, without a true nucleus. The algal body is an unbranched filamentous body composed of uniseriate cells, with no or only a very thin sheath of gelatinous sheaths and regular spirals to form algal colonial segments for reproduction. There are no anamorphic cells or post-wall spores. Due to the different amounts of phycoerythrin and phycocyanin in the body, it shows different body colors, such as blue-green, yellow-green, or purple-red. And has a slender transverse septum. It is a simple reproduction of prokaryotic organisms and can divide directly. Distribution Grows in all kinds of freshwater and seawater, often planktonic growth in the middle and low tide zone seawater or attached to other algae and attachments to form a greenish green cover. The world can naturally grow spirulina in four major lakes, Africa's Tchad Lake (Tchad Lake), Mexico's Texcoco Lake (TexcocoLake), China's Yunnan Lijiang Chenghai Lake and Ordos Hama Taikai Lake. It has been artificially cultivated and mechanized on a large scale. Growth environment The optimal growth temperature of Spirulina is 35-37℃, with good heat resistance. The optimal growth pH range is 3-11.0, when the pH is higher than 11.0 will be unfavorable for growth. In the case of normal nutrition and temperature, light becomes an important factor affecting the growth of spirulina. In outdoor cultivation, the light source is mainly the sun; in experiments, a cool white light source is generally used, and the light intensity required for growth and cultivation is about 3,700-4,000 lx, and about 1,100 lx for maintenance cultivation. The growth of Spirulina is not only affected by the light intensity, but also reacts differently due to the different color values of light. Chemical composition Contains protein (60%), mainly composed of isoleucine (isoleucine), leucine (leucine), lysine (lysine), methionine (methionine), phenylalanine (phenylalanine), threonine (threonine), tryphane (tryphane), valine (valine) and so on. valine) and so on. In addition, it also contains fat, carbohydrates, chlorophyll, carotenoids, phycocyanin, vitamins (vitamin) A, B1, B2, B6, B12, E, nicotinic acid (nicotinic acid), creatine (creatine), γ-linolenic acid (γ-linolenic acid), calcium pantothenate, folic acid (folic acid) and calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. It also contains calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, etc. Cultivation techniques Selection of algal species Selection of high-quality and high-yield algal species is an important part of the cultivation process, but also in the process of cultivation of algal species for domestication and rejuvenation, in order to prevent its degradation and mutation. Preparation of culture medium B's medium is widely used in China and abroad, which is mainly composed of salts such as NaHCO 3 , NaNO 3 , NaCl, K 2 SO 4 , KH 2 PO 4 , FeSO 4 -7H 4 O and so on. When designing the formula of culture medium, it is necessary to make its pH and nutritional status as close as possible to that of the culture fluid of the algal pool, so that the algal bodies can quickly enter the normal growth state after inoculation. In the process of culture and harvesting, new culture medium should be added according to the temperature, light intensity, Ph and morphological characteristics of the algae. The Ph of the culture medium is usually around 9. Grading and expanding culture is generally divided into algal seed culture, expanding culture, inoculation, and large pool culture. The amount of inoculation is generally appropriate to the algal liquid OD (i.e., the optical density of the algal liquid, which is used to indicate the concentration of the algal body) at about 0.1, and after 4-5 days of cultivation in suitable climatic conditions, its brightness reaches 0.8-1.0, and then it can be harvested.

Algae pool management The management of the large pool culture process is an important guarantee of stable and high yield. The main content of the management is to regularly measure and record the air temperature, water temperature, pH, OD value, remove debris, and regularly turn on and off the stirrer. Algae seed pools and large pools are generally required to be equipped with agitators. Stirring can not only make the nutrients in the algae pool evenly distributed, to avoid light damage and light starvation phenomenon brought about by uneven light in the deep and shallow layers of the pool algae, but also eliminate excessive O 2, reduce the photosynthetic inhibition due to oxygen saturation. Pay attention to control the pH around 10, by increasing NaHCO3, adding or replacing the fresh culture solution, increasing the supply of CO2, etc. Pay attention to control the temperature, the optimal culture temperature is 25-35 ℃. Lowering cholesterol Lower cholesterol can effectively prevent the onset of heart disease and stroke. Y-linolenic acid in Spirulina can lower cholesterol in the human body, which can effectively lower high blood pressure and prevent heart disease by lowering cholesterol. Regulation of blood sugar Spirulina in the presence of spirulina polysaccharide, magnesium, chromium and other glucose-lowering substances, through a variety of pathways (such as promoting insulin secretion, slowing down the absorption of sugar, promote the metabolism of substances, antioxidants and so on) to regulate the metabolism of blood sugar. Spirulina Enhancement of the immune system As the algal polysaccharides and cyanobacterial proteins in Spirulina can enhance the proliferation of bone marrow cells, promote the growth of immune organs such as the thymus, spleen and the biosynthesis of serum proteins, Spirulina has an immune-enhancing effect. Protect stomach and intestines Most of the patients with gastric diseases have excessive gastric acid, resulting in gastritis, gastric ulcer and other diseases, while Spirulina is alkaline food, Spirulina contains high plant protein and rich chlorophyll, beta-carotene, etc., these nutrients on the neutralization of gastric acid and the gastrointestinal mucosal repair, regeneration and normal secretion of the function of the gastric tract is extremely effective, especially for gastrointestinal patients. Patients. By improving the intestinal environment, it also has the significance of auxiliary treatment for diabetic patients. Spirulina can improve the emergency capacity, but also on diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, kidney damage have certain prevention and protection effect. Anti-tumor, cancer prevention and suppression Anti-mutagenic and anti-cancer drugs and the mechanism of action of the repair of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), Spirulina alga polysaccharide, β-carotene, phycocyanin have this effect, so Spirulina in the anti-tumor, cancer prevention shows an important role. Prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia Spirulina contains a large number of unsaturated fatty acids, of which linoleic acid and linolenic acid accounted for 45% of the total fatty acids, the two are an important constituent of phospholipids in the mitochondria of the cell membrane, which can prevent the accumulation of total cholesterol and triglyceride in the liver, blood vessels, to avoid damage to the normal physiological function of the cardiovascular system. Antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-fatigue Free radicals are one of the root causes of aging and disease in the human body, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) can catalyze the disproportionation reaction to remove free radicals. Spirulina can reduce exercise-induced oxygen free radical damage, protect the cell membrane structure, and have anti-sport fatigue effect. Anti-radiation function Spirulina polysaccharide can resist radiation. Spirulina anti-radiation mechanism is related to the following factors: (1) Spirulina contains a large number of cyanobacterial proteins and algal polysaccharides, rich in proteins and a variety of vitamins (vitamin C and vitamin E, etc.), β-carotene and trace elements (selenium, zinc and iron, etc.) and other biologically active components, increase the body's immune function, alleviate and mitigate the inhibitory effect of radiation on the immune system. (2) Spirulina has a strong antioxidant effect, which can enhance the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the body and capture free radicals, thereby reducing the formation of radiation-promoted free radicals resulting in DNA damage. (3) Spirulina is rich in iron, vitamin B 12 and chlorophyll, which can promote hematopoietic function and alleviate the inhibition of bone marrow hematopoietic function by radiation. Treatment of anemia Iron deficiency anemia is a very common phenomenon, and Spirulina is extremely rich in iron and chlorophyll, these nutrients can effectively improve the human body anemia. Spirulina is rich in active iron, vitamin B12 and chlorophyll, which are the raw materials and coenzymes for the synthesis of hemoglobin, and spirulina in the phycocyanin, algal polysaccharides can enhance the ratio of multi-stained red blood cells to positively stained red blood cells in the bone marrow of the mice, so spirulina can promote the synthesis of hemoglobin and bone marrow hematopoietic function in many ways, and play the role of anti-anemia Pharmacological effects 1.Anti-radiation damage: radiation Anti radiation damage: Spirulina can increase the survival rate of mice when given orally before and after irradiation. 2. Antibacterial effect: Spirulina obtusususus has antibacterial effect on Gram-positive bacteria, containing lipids and triterpenoids Spirulina obtusususususus ethanol extract has the strongest inhibitory activity, containing sterol extract also has antibacterial effect, but the effect is weaker. Spirulina obtususus has no inhibitory effect on gram-negative bacteria. 3. Anti-cancer effect: Spirulina has an inhibitory effect on the formation of degenerative crypt foci in the colon of NIH mice and standard deviation rats induced by short-term once injection and long-term multiple injections of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine. 4. Photosensitization: with 0.25mg/ml of algae blue protein (phycocyanin) treatment of cultured mouse myeloma cells, and then irradiated by 514nm laser irradiation of 300J/cm 2 , found that the cancer cell survival rate of only 15%; and simply using laser irradiation or phycocyanin treatment, the cell survival rate of 69% and 71%. Lake Chad 5. Role in immune system: Spirulina polysaccharide can make mice serum hemolysin increase 39.5%-98.0%, phagocytosis rate of peritoneal macrophages increase 32.5%-51.5%, phagocytosis index increase 0.9-1.8 times, the number of T-lymphocytes increase 46.8%-87.7%, the arrangement of spleen white medulla lymphocyte Dense, macrophages in the red medulla oblongata increased significantly, acidic α-acetate naphthyl esterase (ANAE)-positive lymphocytes increased by 7.3%-12.8%. 6.Lowering cholesterol: 30 men with high cholesterol and mild hyperlipidemia were divided into two groups, Group A took Spirulina 4.2g daily for 8 weeks, total serum cholesterol decreased from 6.3mmol/L (244mg/dl) to 6.1mmol/L (233mg/dl) in 4 weeks, with a reduction of 4.5%. Group B stopped taking Spirulina for 4 weeks, and the total serum cholesterol decreased, and then returned to the initial level. after which it returned to its initial level. LDL cholesterol was significantly reduced by 6.1% in 4 weeks, and serum cholesterol was reduced even more in those with originally high cholesterol levels.

7. Protective effect on the stomach: blunt-topped spirulina gavage 250-500mg/kg, indomethacin (anti-inflammatory pain) type, anhydrous ethanol-type experimental rat gastric ulcer model has a significant protective effect; can reduce the incidence of pylorus ligation-type rat ulcer model and reduce the number of ulcers, gastric secretion of the gastric juice has a certain degree of inhibition; can accelerate chronic acetic acid-type gastric ulcers in the healing of rats. Botanical Culture History of Consumption The earliest use of spirulina as a food was by the Aztecs in Mexico in the sixteenth century, who harvested spirulina from Lake Texcoco and made pancakes to sell. The Aztecs called it "tres crunchy tlatel", which means stone excrement. Spirulina was discovered in the 1960s by a French scientist who never consumed it as food. The first large-scale production of spirulina was established in Mexico in the 1970s. The history of spirulina consumption in Chad dates back to the Kanem-Bornu empire in the ninth century. At that time, people collected spirulina from Lake Chad. History of Discovery In the early 1960s, the French explorer Dr. Clemente, while exploring in Africa, found that the Canem people at Lake Chad were still physically strong, energetic, and healthy and long-lived when they lived under the conditions of scarcity of animal proteins and even insufficient food and vegetables. Investigation found that they often fish floating in the Lake Chad of spirulina dried for consumption and treatment. Nutritional composition Spirulina nutritional composition is characterized by a high protein content, while the fat, fiber content is low, and also contains a wide variety of vitamins, it is vitamin B12 and β-carotene content of the highest food. In addition, it is also the most absorbable iron content in all foods, and it is also found to contain algal proteins with cancer prevention and treatment, as well as a large number of other mineral elements and bioactive substances to enhance the body's immunity. Spirulina polysaccharide is the main form of carbohydrates in Spirulina algae, the content is as high as 14% to 16% of the dry weight. The lipids contained in Spirulina are almost all important unsaturated fatty acids, and the content of cholesterol is extremely small. The protein content of Spirulina dry powder is as high as 60%～72%, which is equivalent to 1.7 times of soybeans, 6 times of wheat, 9.3 times of corn, 3.1 times of chicken, 3.5 times of beef, 3.7 times of fish, 7 times of pork, 4.6 times of eggs, and 2.9 times of whole milk powder. Spirulina is rich in vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and vitamin E, etc.. It can be said that it is a full-price concentration of the body's most needed vitamins. Spirulina is also a natural treasure trove of chlorophyll, with high quantity and quality, accounting for 1.1% of the algal body, which is 2 to 3 times of most terrestrial plants and 10 times of common vegetables. Spirulina contains chlorophyll type is mainly chlorophyll a, molecular structure and human hemoglobin is very similar, is the direct raw material of human synthesis of hemoglobin, known as "green blood", and the content of up to 7600mg/kg algae powder. Spirulina contains all the necessary amino acids, lysine content of up to 4% to 4.8%, compared with animal and plant food sources closest to the recommended standards of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the composition of a balanced human body to its absorption and utilization rate is particularly high. Spirulina is rich in minerals needed by the human body, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, sodium, manganese, zinc, potassium, chlorine, etc., accounting for about 9% of the total amount of minerals in the algae. Among them, the iron content is 20 times of the general iron-containing food; the calcium content is 10 times of milk. These minerals contained in spirulina are alkali metal elements within the scope of cell biology, and do not produce any side effects on human cells and tissues and organs