Pigments are colorful chemical compounds which reflect only
certain wavelengths of visible light. This makes them appear
"colorful". Flowers, corals, and even animal and human skin
contain pigments which give them their colors. More important
than their reflection of light is the ability of pigments to
absorb certain wavelengths.
Because they interact with light to absorb only certain
wavelengths, pigments are useful to plants and other autotrophs --
organisms which make their own food using photosynthesis.
In plants, algae, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae),
pigments are the means by which the energy of sunlight is
captured for photosynthesis. However, since each pigment
reacts with only a narrow range of the spectrum, there is
usually a need to produce several kinds of pigments, each
of a different color, to capture more of the sun's energy.
----Heomatococcus----------Spirulina Pacifica--------Spirulina Platensis-----------Dunaliella
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Spectrum of colors in BAC's algae offers energy and protection
There are three principal classes of pigments.
Chlorophylls are the most important chelates in nature.
They are capable of channelling the energy of sunlight into chemical
energy through the process of photosynthesis. Chlorophylls are greenish
pigments which contain a porphyrin ring. This is a stable ring-shaped molecule
around which electrons are free to migrate. Because the electrons move freely,
the ring has the potential to gain or lose electrons easily, and thus the potential
to provide energized electrons to other molecules. This is the fundamental
process by which chlorophyll "captures" the energy of sunlight.
Carotenoids are usually red, orange, or yellow pigments, and include
the familiar compound carotene, which gives carrots their color. These compounds
are composed of two small six-carbon rings connected by a "chain" of carbon atoms.
As a result, they do not dissolve in water, and must be attached to membranes within
the cell. Carotenoids cannot transfer sunlight energy directly to the
photosynthetic pathway, but must pass their absorbed energy to chlorophyll.
For this reason, they are called accessory pigments. One very visible
accessory pigment is fucoxanthin the brown pigment which colors kelps and
other brown algae as well as the diatoms.
Phycobilins are water-soluble pigments, and are therefore found in
the cytoplasm, or in the stroma of the chloroplast. They occur only in
Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and Rhodophyta (red algae).
Phycobilins in BAC
The picture above shows the two classes of phycobilins which may be extracted from these "algae". The vial on the left contains the bluish pigment phycocyanin, which gives the Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) their name. The vial on the right contains the reddish pigment phycoerythrin, which gives the red algae their common name. BAC contain both blue-green algae and red algae to take advantage of the extraordinary benefits of their pigments.
Phycobilins are useful to the organisms which use them for soaking up light energy. Both phycocyanin and phycoerythrin fluoresce at a particular wavelength. That is, when they are exposed to strong light, they absorb the light energy, and release it by emitting light of a very narrow range of wavelengths. These pigments chemically bond to antibodies and hense are found to prevent tumorogenesis.
Pigments in BAC
BAC is a whole food. The selection of algae in BAC make up for an extraordinary offerring of pigments and their resulting health benefits.
"The thousands of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals in whole foods act synergistically together to create a more powerful effect than the sum of their parts, producing a result which cannot be recreated by supplements."
- Vice President for Education at the American Institute for Cancer
The green algae of BAC are rich in phycobilins and the richest
sources of chlorophylls which contains high levels of magnesium
for photosynthesis, and calcium spirulan, a well-known agents for
its antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory benefits.
BAC's red algae hoematococcus and dunaliella contain high levels
of nature's special pigments carotenoids and phycobilins.
BAC contains astaxanthin, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein,
lycopene, xeaxanthin, quercitin, b cryptoxanthin and many other pigments that
offers powerful immunity and toxin shield against continuous pollution,
toxins and stress. The algae hoemattoccocus in BAC is the highest
source on earth of astaxanthin, a red pigment which is clinically
proven to have hundreds of times more antioxidant power than vitamin
E and vitamin C, and dozen of times more than that of beta carotene
as found in carrots.
