Spirulina - 100g

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirulina_(dietary_supplement)

Dried Spirulina contains about 60% (51–71%) protein. It is a complete protein containing all essential amino acids, though with reduced amounts of methionine, cysteine and lysine when compared to the proteins of meat, eggs and milk. It is, however, superior to typical plant protein, such as that from legumes.^[2][7] The U.S. National Library of Medicine stated that spirulina was no better than milk or meat as a protein source, and was approximately 30 times more expensive per gram.^[8]

Vitamin B12 Spirulina is not considered to be a reliable source of Vitamin B₁₂. Spirulina supplements contain predominantly pseudovitamin B₁₂, which is biologically inactive in humans.^[9] Companies which grow and market spirulina have claimed it to be a significant source of B₁₂ on the basis of alternative, unpublished assays, although their claims are not accepted by independent scientific organizations. The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada in their position paper onvegetarian diets state that spirulina cannot be counted on as a reliable source of active vitamin B₁₂.^[10] The medical literature similarly advises that spirulina is unsuitable as a source of B₁₂.^[9][11]

Other nutrients Spirulina's lipid content is about 7% by weight,^[12] and is rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and also provides alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), stearidonic acid (SDA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) andarachidonic acid (AA).^[7][13] Spirulina contains vitamins B₁ (thiamine), B₂ (riboflavin), B₃ (nicotinamide), B₆ (pyridoxine), B₉ (folic acid), vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin A and vitamin E.^[7][13] It is also a source of potassium, calcium, chromium,copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, sodium and zinc.^[7][13] Spirulina contains many pigments which may be beneficial and bioavailable, including beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, chlorophyll-a, xanthophyll, echinenone,myxoxanthophyll, canthaxanthin, diatoxanthin, 3'-hydroxyechinenone, beta-cryptoxanthin and oscillaxanthin, plus the phycobiliproteins c-phycocyanin and allophycocyanin.^[1]