Nutraceutical Spirulina : Commercial Cultivation Using Rural Technology in India

Spirulina - the blue green alga is worldwide known for its highest nutrient contents in a balanced form required for human body. As such it has been raised from "nutrient" to "Nutraceutical, since it is food and medicine too. Its potentials were realised but its cultivation in semiarid zone of Rajasthan and seismatic zone of Gujarat remained an enigma. This book provides solutions to problems and makes Spirulina cultivation production within the reach of rich and poor both. It holds a great future so far its marketing is concerned. At home it has been less popular plant, since most of the produce is exported as it brings exciting revenue. However, the simplified technology not only makes it easily cultivated commercial alga, rather simultaneously provides handsome profits. It is a unique plant which provides health to its consumer and wealth to its cultivator. The book is divided into 20-sections, covering almost all aspects of Spirulina cultivation including problems and their solutions. It covers a comprehensive literature on algal biotechnology in general and Rajasthan in particular. Significance of chemical composition is highlighted. The physical factors and chemical requirements that influence the biomass production are given sufficient space in the book. Ground nut shell ash extract - a novel nutrient added to the composition of the medium, is first on record. Commercial cultivation at Rajasthan and Gujarat states provide sufficient data for its production in any part of the country. The comparative account of the two states stands a witness to this fact. The nutrient rich Spirulina proved its pharmaceutical significance in a number of diseases included in sections 10-18 that justify its designation as Nutraceutical. This book provides entire information pertaining to Spirulina cultivation in the country-side, cheap and easy and ruling out the myths about its production in rural areas. It will be an asset to botanists, scientists, research scholars and more so to enterpreneurs, who can happily lay their hands on commercial cultivation of Spirulina.