Microalgae have been previously cultivated as a biofuel or used to create animal feeds as it is rich in protein. In recent years, nutrient-rich microalgal biomass is being consumed as a dietary supplement. Yemoja, a start-up based in Tel hai, Israel, has developed a next-generation platform for growing and harvesting microalgae.
The company describes microalgae as 'the earth's original supercrop,' which they intend to cultivate on a commercialized scale. Microalgae for human consumption usually comes in the form of tablets or powder, such as spirulina. Yemoja intends to produce a wider range of products from this algae.
Eyal Shalmon, the CEO of the company, said, "There is a vast ocean of microalgae species not yet discovered, and only a dozen or so are commercially available." The market is still very young when it comes to the potential of microalgae products.
Mass-Producing Microalgae
Using high-precision fast-track photobioreactor technology, Yemoja aims to boost the entire microalgae value chain with new varieties and yields. After that, they aim to bring the technology to the mainstream of high-end nutraceutical food and cosmeceutical spheres with additional formulations in the pipeline. From the algae, they extract compounds such as enzymes, fucoxanthins, polysaccharides, xanthophylls, and other carotenoids.
Yemoja's technology combines biopharma, marine sciences, and engineering to produce a variety of pure algae at any scale, and in a short time. This is "something the microalgae market has not witnessed until now," described Erez Ashkenazi, the co-founder of Yemoja. New products can be customized according to consumer needs.
The company mass-produces the microalgae indoors in a cultivation system with controlled parameters like light, pH levels, temperature, and carbon gas emissions. The environment allows multiple species of microalgae to thrive.
READ ALSO: 6 Health Benefits of Spirulina
Health Benefits of Microalgae
Some of the most common dietary supplements made from microalgae include chlorophyll. The plant's green molecule has numerous health benefits such as improving gut health, boosting the immune system, and also helps detoxify the blood, and prevent body odor.
Microalgae also contain the omega-3 fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Also found in fatty fish, these omega-3 fats can help lower the risk of heart disease and are sometimes used to treat depression and anxiety through the balancing of hormones that affect the mood.
Dr. Scott Doughman, an algae researcher, said, "Algae oil is more concentrated in omega-3s and DHA, and is thus better formulated for human metabolism." The brain and other organs highly benefit from DHA.
Yemoja's ability to mass-produce omega-3 fats from microalgae can potentially help the problem of overfishing stemming from the extraction of omega-3 oils. Also, with mercury levels rising in the ocean as well as other harmful chemicals, omega-3 oils extracted from fish can now potentially be contaminated.
Amikam Bar-Gil, the co-founder of Yemoja, said that microalgae "are a powerful source of natural, vegan, bioactive ingredients. Our innovative approach serves to create pure, sustainable microalgae-derived products of the highest quality, and that can be naturally adapted into any desired matrix."
