Method for the efficient and continuous growth and harvesting of nutrient-rich phytoplankton and methods of using the same

Abstract

Methods of growing and harvesting multiple species of phytoplankton are disclosed herein. The method generally includes four steps, namely: (1) collecting phytoplankton seawater containing multiple species of naturally-occurring phytoplankton directly from a source of seawater; (2) adding nutrients to the phytoplankton seawater to proliferate the multiple species of naturally-occurring phytoplankton to a predetermined density; (3) separating the multiple species of naturally-occurring phytoplankton from the phytoplankton seawater to form a phytoplankton concentrate; and (4) collecting the phytoplankton concentrate such that the collected phytoplankton of the phytoplankton concentrate remain in a substantially intact cellular state.

1 . A solid phytoplankton product, comprising:
 from about 3.6 to about 5.9 milligrams of chlorophyll per gram of solid phytoplankton product;   from about 0.1% to about 4.2% of at least one fatty acid by weight of solid phytoplankton product;   from about 0.1% to about 2.7% of at least one amino acid by weight of solid phytoplankton product;   from about 0.01 ppm to about 7,420 ppm of at least one elemental metal by weight of solid phytoplankton product; and   wherein the chlorophyll, the at least one fatty acid, the at least one amino acid, and the at least one elemental metal remain substantially in an intact cellular state in the solid phytoplankton product.   
     
     
         2 . The solid phytoplankton powder of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fatty acid is selected from the group consisting of unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, and esterified fatty acids. 
     
     
         3 . The solid phytoplankton powder of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one amino acid is selected from the group consisting of alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, methionine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. 
     
     
         4 . The solid phytoplankton powder of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one elemental metal is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese mercury, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silver, sodium, strontium, thallium, thorium, tin, titanium, uranium, vanadium, zinc, and zirconium. 
     
     
         5 . The solid phytoplankton powder of  claim 1 , further comprising at least trace amounts of at least one vitamin selected from the group consisting of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E. 
     
     
         6 - 8 . (canceled)