Chlorella vulgaris based functional food design

Malnutrition affects people all around the world regardless of their economic income or geographic location. This problem is mainly caused by inadequate food intake and/or unhealthy eating habits. Today, the common diet of most people is high in simple carbohydrates, deficient in micronutrients and mostly depends on an animal protein which is responsible for occupying the majority of agricultural lands and usage of excess amounts of water. Chlorella vulgaris is an exceptional vegan-vegetarian food alternative by providing enough protein to compete with animal sources in addition to containing a broad range of vitamins and minerals like vegetables. From the environmental aspect, cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris aids by sequestering carbon dioxide without the need for fertile lands and uses 500% less water than meat production. In this study, preliminary nutritional analysis was done to assess the utilization of Chlorella vulgaris CCAP 211/11b as a functional food ingredient. For the experimental process, Chlorella vulgaris was grown under photoautotrophic and sterile conditions in two liter photobioreactors in sextuplicate batches. Harvested biomass of three batches were baked at 125°C for 15 and 35 min, separately. Nutritional profiles of both raw and baked biomasses were analyzed. Macronutrient compositions were determined by colorimetric methods and mass balance whereas vitamin contents were quantified by LC-MS/MS analysis. The results showed that baking at 125°C for 15 and 35 min had no statistically significant effect on the vitamin content of Chlorella vulgaris and the produced biomass has potential as a significant source of vegan-vegetarian protein and vitamin B12.