Upper Klamath Lake Super Blue Green Algae vs Marine
Phytoplankton
There is a lot of interest in how Aphanizomenon flos aquae (AFA) from
Upper Klamath Lake blue green algae compares to Marine Phytoplankton
(MP).
It is important to understand that MP is not just a single kind of microorganism. MP is the component of plankton composed of a variety of
single celled plants (plankton also contains microscopic animals).
Marien phytoplankton consists of the very beautiful diatoms (which have
a silicate ‘shell’ and can resemble snowflakes); dinoflagellates, and other
species of blue-green alga (which are also called cyanobacteria).
Except for the blue green algae, many of the other microorganisms in MP
will have likely have an indigestible cell wall.
Another, and very important, difference in our wild algae and MP is that
MP is farmed. They are grown in seawater. This water must be
sterilized, usually by either high temperatures in an autoclave or by
exposure to ultraviolet radiation, to prevent biological contamination of
the culture. Various fertilizers are added to the culture medium to
facilitate the growth of plankton.
Both Spirulina and AFA are purely blue green microalgae. However,
Spirulina is farmed; only the AFA from Upper Klamath Lake is wild
harvested.
Both the blue green alga and Marine Phytoplankton feed on light and
produce chlorophyll.
Like AFA, MP should be mineral rich.
There is value in consuming the farmed micro-foods like MP, Spirulina,
Chlorella and Dunaliella. One must be very careful in which brands to
use, when buying farmed microalga products. Sadly, tons of garbage has
been and continues to be dumped in the ocean, including medical waste,
radioactive waste and chemicals from industry and agriculture. Thus, the
ocean has minerals but also more toxins than Upper Klamath Lake.
Only AFA from Klamath Lake offers the benefit of being a wild food. The
mineral availability for the AFA is also very high. Exposure to air borne
toxins, radiation and pollution is limited by the unique geography.