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Mass Culture of Cyanobacteria

  • Chapter
Photosynthetic Prokaryotes

Part of the book series: Biotechnology Handbooks ((BTHA,volume 6))

Abstract

The history of Spirulina as a staple for the human diet is fascinating. As recounted by Furst (1978), Fray Toribio de Benavente reached the Valley of Mexico in 1524, 3 years after the fall of the Aztecs. He described a harvest of tecuitlatl: There breeds upon the water of the lake of Mexico a kind of very fine mud and at certain time of year when it is thickest the Indians collect it with a very fine-meshed net until their acales are filled with it; on shore they make on the earth or the sand some very smooth beds, two or three brazas (3.4–5.1 m) wide and a little less in length, and they cast it down to dry, sufficient to make a cake two dedos (3.6 cm) thick. In a few days it dries to the thickness of a worn ducat and they slice this cake like wide bricks; the Indians eat much of it and enjoy it well, this product is treated by all the merchants of the land, as cheese is among us; those who share the Indians’ condiments find it very savory, having slightly salty flavor. (Furst, 1978).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory, The Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University at Sede-Boker, Israel, 84993

    Amos Richmond

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  1. Amos Richmond
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK

    Nicholas H. Mann

  2. University of Warwick, Coventry, England

    Noel G. Carr

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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Richmond, A. (1992). Mass Culture of Cyanobacteria. In: Mann, N.H., Carr, N.G. (eds) Photosynthetic Prokaryotes. Biotechnology Handbooks, vol 6. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1332-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1332-9_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1334-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1332-9

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