The major focus of the researchers right now is on food security and sustainability. How to achieve this is a complete mystery to us. Staple foods of different zones will be limited to only one or two nutrients like carbohydrates and fats. They will be lacking in other major nutrients like proteins, vitamins and minerals. For solving this superfoods are recommended instead of staple food. Superfood is a nutrient-dense food, when consumed will serve as a complete balanced diet and most importantly contribute immensely to the person’s health.
SPIRULINA AS A SUPERFOOD
Spirulina, as we all learnt during our basic education, is a photosynthetically active, single-celled microorganism belonging to the blue-green algae family also referred to as cyanobacteria. It can be cultivated in both freshwaters as well as saltwater. Spirulina gained its popularity as astronauts used it as their source of energy when in space and it was successfully cultivated in space.
PACKAGE OF NUTRIENTS
Spirulina does complete justice to its role as a superfood. 7gm of dried spirulina contain 20 calories, 4gm of protein, 1.7gm of digestible fats, 11% thiamine, 15% riboflavin, 4% niacin, 21% copper and 11% iron. It contains fats in the form of omega 6 fatty acids as well as omega 3 fatty acids. It has powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Spirulina flourishingly lowers the bad cholesterol and thereby increase the good cholesterol. In addition, it increases blood lipids, lower blood pressure and blood sugar.
CULTIVATION
Let it be small-scale or large-scale, spirulina cultivation will never disappoint you when it comes to profit. The income will certainly surpass the expenditure. We can easily grow spirulina in a fish tank or a pond or any container of your preference. As said before it is adapted to both fresh and hard water, but it flourishes best in alkaline water. Even though it sounds easy, it is crucial to follow the package of practices because anything living will grow and prosper only when the optimum requirements are met sufficiently i.e., fed properly to be concise.
Temperature: 25-38⁰C is ideal for growth.
Light: Special attention should be given to ensure optimum light in the growing area.
Aeration: The air pump should be fitted in the container for proper aeration.
Cultural media: Water being the media should be rich in nutrients, plain water alone is not usually preferred for cultivation. Plain water along with Sodium bicarbonate, Magnesium sulphate, Potassium nitrate, citric acid, urea, Calcium chloride, Iron sulphate and Ammonium sulphate adds up to be a perfect cultural media.
Equipment: Thermometer, water pump, air pump, PH meter, an electric water heater will be required.
Spirulina will be ready to harvest after 2-3 weeks. Harvesting is done by a filter or mesh cloth to drain excess water. Later it is sun-dried, crushed into powder and packed in airtight containers and presented in the market.
PROFIT EXPECTED
The market price of spirulina powder is 1000 per kg. After deducting all the expenses one can easily get a profit of Rs.30,000 per month. It’s not always about the profit, cultivation of anything comes with satisfaction and peace of mind. Farming always provides us with the fruit of hard work.
Spirulina cultivation is gaining popularity and is definitely worth giving a try.