Chlorella is a type of algae that grows in freshwater. It contains large amounts of chlorophyll, a pigment that plants and other organisms utilize to absorb light and use its energy to to produce life-sustaining carbohydrates and oxygen. Even though chlorella has existed on Earth since its beginning, and was only identified in 1890 by a Dutch microbiologist named MW Beijerinck and was only studied intensively in the 1940s. Morales shared that the study of chlorella’s immune-boosting effects is not limited to animals as a 1990 study on chlorella performed at the Medical College of Virginia involved 15 glioblastoma (a type of malignant brain tumor) patients.

Buban, C. E. (2014, April 26). Algae-type chlorella a super food?. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. B4.