Dietary Supplementation with Chlorella pyrenoidosa Produces Positive Results in Patients with Cancer or Suffering From Certain Common Chronic Illnesses

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  Feb, 2001  by Randall E. Merchant,  Cynthia A. Andre

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Randall E. Merchant is a professor of anatomy and neurosurgery at Virginia Commonwealth University's Medical College of Virginia. Cynthia A. Andre is a clinical research coordinator and social worker at Virginia Commonwealth University's Medical College of Virginia.

Introduction

Laboratory and clinical studies from Japan have reported that broken cell wall preparations and extracts of Chlorella pyrenoidosa, a unicellular green alga, as well as other Chlorella species when either given orally or injected, promote growth and healing. Furthermore, these preparations stimulate the immune system in such a way that the host is protected from infection and cancer. Chlorella pyrenoidosa grows naturally in fresh water and has the highest content of chlorophyll (28.9 g/kg) of any known plant on earth. This species' proteins contain all the amino acids known to be essential for the nutrition of animals and human beings. There are also vitamins found in Chlorella pyrenoidosa including: vitamin C, provitamin A (B-carotene), thiamine (BI), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, vitamin B12, biotin, choline, vitamin K, lipoic acid, and inositol. Minerals in Chlorella pyrenoidosa include: phosphorus, calcium, zinc, iodine, magnesium, iron, and copper. Chlorella has a strong cell wall that prevents its native form from being adequately broken down and absorbed by the human digestive system and so special processing is required to break its cell wall (Mitsuda et al., 1977). In addition to amino acids, peptides, proteins, vitamins, sugars and nucleic acids, Chlorella pyrenoidosa contains a water-soluble substance known as Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF) (Steenblock, 1987). Approximately 5% of raw Chlorella pyrenoidosa is CGF; composed primarily of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids believed to be derived from the nuclei of the algae.

What Chlorella is and How Chlorella Products Are Grown

Chlorella pyrenoidosa is a species of green algae that grows in fresh water. This life form emerged over 2.5 billion years ago, and was the first form of plant with a well-defined nucleus. There are fossils from the pre-Cambrian period that clearly indicate the presence of Chlorella. Because Chlorella is a microscopic organism, it was not discovered until the late 19th century, deriving its name from the Greek, "chloros" meaning green and "ella" meaning small.

Each Chlorella pyrenoidosa microorganism is composed of a nucleus, starch grains, chloroplasts and mitochrondria surrounded by a cell wall composed mainly of cellulose. Under normal conditions, Chlorella divides into four daughter cells in less than 24 hours. The length of Chlorella's life cycle depends on the strength of the sunlight, temperature and availability of nutrients.

Although the algae grow naturally in fresh water, Chlorella pyrenoidosa destined for human consumption is generally cultivated in large, fresh mineral water pools under direct sunlight. The growing process must be carefully inspected and sanitary conditions are meticulously maintained to ensure there is no contamination of the Chlorella with other microorganisms. Once the fresh-water pools have enough Chlorella cells in them, the algae are harvested and the tough cell walls of the Chlorella must then be broken down to increase the algae's digestibility. This can only be accomplished with the patented process utilizing the DYNO-Mill[TM], a unique method developed under the guidance of Mr. Hideo Nakayama of the Sun Chlorella Corporation. All of the other methods, which include heating or treatment with enzymes, compromise Chlorella's digestibility, therefore eliminating full health benefits of Chlorella. The DYNO-Mill[TM] physically disintegrates the cell wall by using only natural, mechanical means and theref ore there is no need for chemicals, enzymes or heating that can compromise its nutritional value, while assuring optimum assimilation and digestion (Mitsuda et al., 1977). With the DYNO-Mill[TM] technique, Chlorella is more than 85% digestible. Once the cell wall has been broken, Chlorella is spray-dried producing powder and molded into tablets using a direct press machine. The final results are solid tablets of pure Chlorella pyrenoidosa.

The recommendations as to the number of Chlorella tablets and Chlorella liquid extract which should be consumed daily may vary. For example, the maintenance dosage of Chlorella tablets and Chlorella liquid extract for those in good health is 15 tablets (3g) and 30 ml. Those with severe medical conditions may increase the daily dosage as much as three times, depending on their specific needs.

Promotion of Health and Healing by Chlorella

We know that neither disintegrated cell-wall preparations of Chlorella pyrenoidosa nor CGF has any direct action against cancer cells or infective agents, and so the exact mechanism by which Chlorella enhances immunoreactivity remains unclear. Animal studies have demonstrated that Chlorella pyrenoidosa affects the immune system by stimulating an increase in number and activities of macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (Kojima et al., 1973; Miyazawa et al., 1988; Tanaka et al., 1986; Konishi et al., 1985; Komiyama et al., 1986; Yamaguchi et al., 1985). An acidic polysaccharide prepared from Chlorella cell wall has also been shown to induce the production of interferon in vitro and in mice (Umezawa et al, 1982) and therefore, part of Chlorella pyrenoidosa's anticancer effect in part may be mediated through the actions of this cytokine.