Studies have found that edible algae contain 8 kinds of amino acids necessary for the human body, and the composition is reasonable, and it has auxiliary therapeutic effects on hypertension, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. It can be said that algae is an excellent protein source. Similar to traditional sources such as soy, whey, pea, etc., algae protein is gaining enormous traction in the nutraceutical industry due to its rich nutritional content.
The ability of microalgae to accumulate protein is the strongest among algae. The protein content of some chlorella and spirulina can reach 70% of dry weight. The dried algae powder is almost equivalent to concentrated protein powder, removing fat and cellulose, that is It can meet the standard of protein isolation. This advantage is unmatched by terrestrial plants. In addition to the high protein content, there are four main advantages:
Regulability Microalgae, as unicellular or multicellular algae, are highly regulatable in their growth characteristics and product composition due to billions of years of evolution. Changing the nutrient elements in the medium can induce and regulate the protein, oil and some high-value secondary metabolites in the microalgae cells, so as to achieve the purpose of obtaining the target product with maximum efficiency.
Industrial production The industrial chain structure of
Plant Protein is "agriculture + industry", while algae protein is purely industrial production. From algae cultivation to protein output, it is a combination of bioengineering and chemical engineering, which breaks away from the agricultural food raw material production mode. This also determines its high controllability, including food safety, quality, and price.
The output per unit of land is extremely high. Taking the cultivation of spirulina in the track pond as an example, the annual output of
Spirulina Powder (calculated as 60% protein content) per mu reaches more than 900 kilograms, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that of soybean protein and pea protein. It has a high degree of production intensification and flexible layout of production areas.
Environmentally friendly, low-carbon or even negative-carbon production Microalgae production does not involve chemical fertilizers and pesticides, water resources can also be recycled, and there is basically no waste discharge. In particular, the use of photoautotrophic-heterotrophic mixed culture has significantly lower carbon emissions than plant protein production.
In terms of application, the algae protein market can be segmented into dietary supplements, food and beverage, animal feed, cosmetics, and others.
