Spirulina is a microscopic alga of a deep bluish green color that has existed for the last 3.5 billion years and it is one of the microorganisms that are capable of producing oxygen during its vital processes and have changed the earth’s atmosphere, making life as we know it possible.

It grows naturally in very alkaline lakes, especially in some regions of Africa and America. In Mexico, when the Spanish arrived, the Aztecs consumed this green “food of the Gods”, reserved only for the aristocrats. It has also been found in Peru; and there are several strains in the world.

In the 50’s, when Africa was going through a great drought and the population had diseases aggravated by malnutrition, a group of scientists discovered, by the shores of Lake Chad, a group of tribes that were healthy. Not only that; unlike any other tribe, the elderly were really long-lived.

They could quickly prove that the element that assured that well-being was the daily consumption of a green algae that floated on the lake. Ten years later, German, Japanese and American laboratories already established the nutritional importance of Spirulina, and a few years after that, the United Nations declared Spirulina "food for mankind".

In the European Community, the “Melissa Project”, lead by France, develops the production of Spirulina in space, since it is the culture capable of “catching” all of sun’s energy and turn it into food for man, oxygenating the cabin and eliminating the carbon anhydride at the same time. Two French companies, ADF - Alain Ducasse Formation and GEM developed Spirulina gnocchi for the astronauts.

Japan leads the investigation on therapeutic applications and other medical utilities of certain substances extracted from Spirulina (phycocianin, fatty acids, calcium-spirulan, etc).

Campo Esmeralda started its Spirulina culture in Argentina in 2003, commercializing it as a dietary supplement, since it is a product destined to increase the incorporation of nutrients in the overall diet.