Algae and Plants
13
Phylum: Chlorophyta
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Sphaeropleales
Family: Scenedesmaceae
Common name: Green alga.
Distribution: Found across the world
(AlgaeBase).
Habitat: Ponds, lakes, and rivers.
Description: Cells of this species commonly occur in colonies (coenobia) as
multiples of two, with four or eight
cells being most common. Coenobia are
formed inside the mother cell wall and
are released to either form a new colony
or disperse as unicells, which are elliptical, measuring 10  µm long. Different
forms of coenobia are found, including linear, costulatoid, irregular, alternating, and dactylococcoid patterns.
Uninucleate cells have a single laminate
chloroplast, which constitutes most of the
cell  volume. Cell wall contains mainly
cellulose, pectin, and the polycarotenoid
sporopollenine, which gives it extreme
resistance. This species could serve as a
useful dietary supplement. It  has been
reported that incorporation of this species at 5 g/daily in the diet has increased
weight in children (Gouveia et al., 2008; 
Wünchiers, 2002).
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (% DM)
Protein
CHO a
Lipids
50–56
10–17
12–14
a Carbohydrate.
Amino Acids (g/100 g protein)
Isoleucine
3.6
Leucine
7.3
Valine
6.0
Lysine
5.6
Phenylalanine
4.8
Tyrosine
3.2
Methionine
1.5
Cysteine
0.6
Tryptophan
0.3
Threonine
5.1
Alanine
9.0
Arginine
7.1
Aspartic acid
8.4
Glutamic acid
10.7
Glycine
7.1
Histidine
2.1
Proline
3.9
Serine
3.8
Source: Data from Becker (2006).
Fatty Acids (% of lipids)
12:0
0.3
14:0
0.6
14:1
0.1
16:0
16.0
16:1
8.0
16:2
1.0
16:4
26.0
18:0
0.3
18:1
8.0
18:2
6.0
Source: Data from Becker
(1994).
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (P.A. Dang)