Whole-cell powder of the marine microalga Nannochloropsis, cultivated in covered pools in Okinawa, Japan, and spray-dried at source. The producer's composition data list 61 nutrients, with EPA omega-3 carried in phospholipid form, palmitoleic acid (omega-7) and a protein with an amino acid score of 100. Supplied for vegan omega-3, greens and beauty-from-within formulations.
Tell us what you are developing and which documents you need. We reply from Japan within one working day with the product specification, SDS and the CoA of the current lot.
The producer documents six stages from seed culture to finished powder. Cultivation runs year-round in pools covered by a greenhouse film that keeps foreign organisms out of the culture. Cultivation, harvest and processing are carried out within one organisation, with quality checks at each stage. Operating parameters such as temperatures and drying conditions are not disclosed in the producer documents, so the steps below list only what is documented.
Step 1 · starter culture
The producer maintains its own seed culture of Nannochloropsis
Step 2 · scale-up indoors
Volume is built up under indoor conditions before transfer to the pools
Step 3 · greenhouse-covered pools
Year-round cultivation; the cover shields the culture from outside contamination
Step 4 · harvest
Biomass is separated from the culture water and concentrated
Step 5 · heat step, then drying
The concentrate is sterilised and spray-dried to powder; parameters not disclosed
Step 6 · packing
1 kg sealed aluminium bags; lot CoA with every shipment
The grade on this page. Other grades, where available, are specified on request.
Example lot values are published in the developer's guide below. They are an example, not a specification; your lot's CoA governs.
A Japanese trading company selling directly to brand owners and contract manufacturers. No distributor layer between you and the documents.
Every shipment travels with the Certificate of Analysis of its own lot, with the measured values and the full safety panel.
A small first order lets you run a pilot batch before committing to bulk. Larger volumes are quoted by volume and delivery terms.
For registered companies developing a product. Tell us the format you plan and we will say honestly what to expect.
After payment is received. Freight quoted on request. Specification and SDS before you order, CoA with the goods.
If you are comparing ingredients for a new SKU, these questions separate one material from another quickly.
The human studies on Nannochloropsis EPA used a concentrated polar-lipid oil (over 25% EPA). This product is the whole dried cell at food-level EPA. Decide which you are formulating for before comparing prices per kilogram.
The producer's documents show 4.6% in one place and 5.0 in another. Dose your formula on the EPA value of the lot CoA, not on a brochure figure.
Nannochloropsis biomass is not treated the same way everywhere: some markets accept it as a food ingredient, others review new microalgal biomass under novel-food rules. The company registering the finished product confirms the status before launch.
The 61-nutrient list is a typical analysis, not a guaranteed minimum for each nutrient. If a label claim depends on one nutrient, ask for a lot analysis of that nutrient.
As a whole food the powder is used at gram-level servings. Check how that affects capsule count, cost per serving and the format you choose; sticks, greens powders and beverages often work better than high-count capsules.
What each component is, what the processing changes, and what published research on the raw material has examined. No health claims; references on request.
Most of the microalgae powder traded for human nutrition is spirulina or chlorella: green whole-food powders valued for protein, pigments and minerals. Nannochloropsis belongs to the same category of use but brings a different lipid profile. In the producer's comparison, the EPA content of the powder is roughly ten times that of euglena, spirulina or chlorella, and palmitoleic acid (omega-7) is present at 3 g per 100 g against 0.13 to 0.16 for the other three. The protein is complete, with an amino acid score of 100 (euglena 89, spirulina 70, chlorella 99 in the same table). A formulator who already uses a greens powder can therefore add an algal omega-3 and omega-7 story without adding a second ingredient.
The powder is used in three directions. Vegan omega-3 and greens supplements, where it is the EPA-bearing component of a blend; beauty-from-within and whole-food formulations, where the 61-nutrient panel and the omega-7 fraction carry the story; and cosmetics, where microalgal biomass and its lipids are used as actives. Beyond human nutrition the producer also names hatchery and livestock feed, fertiliser, pharmaceutical research and biofuel programmes among the uses of the alga. If you need a finished product rather than the ingredient, our Tomioka Plant in Gunma produces capsules, tablets and stick packs from 5,000 units per SKU.
Nannochloropsis is dosed in grams, not milligrams, so ingredient cost per serving is meaningful and capsule count rises quickly at whole-food servings. The formats that work are a hero inclusion of a few hundred milligrams inside a vegan omega-3 or greens blend, single-serve sticks and sachets, functional beverages and bars, and cosmetic bases. Keep the bag sealed between uses and protect the powder from light and humidity, as with any chlorophyll- and lipid-rich algal material. Specific shelf-life and storage conditions are confirmed with the specification sheet.
Regulatory treatment of Nannochloropsis biomass as a food ingredient differs by market. In the European Union, microalgal biomass without a documented history of consumption before 1997 falls under the novel food regulation and requires authorisation before use in food; this applies to the whole-biomass powder, while cosmetic use is governed by cosmetic rules. In other markets the status is decided by the local food authority and by the company that registers the finished product. We supply the composition data and documents; the label claim and the market status are confirmed by your regulatory team. Related pages: C-Phycocyanin Powder (spirulina-derived) and Fish Collagen Tripeptide.
Nannochloropsis is a genus of small marine microalgae (Eustigmatophyceae) known in phycology mainly for one thing: it synthesises eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), the long-chain omega-3 most people associate with fish. Fish do not make EPA themselves; they accumulate it from the microalgae at the base of the marine food web. A review of lipid production in Nannochloropsis (Marine Drugs, 2016) reports EPA contents from about 1% to 12% of dry weight across strains and culture conditions, and notes that the EPA sits mainly in polar lipids, the phospholipids and the galactolipids of the chloroplast membranes, rather than in storage triglycerides. That is the chemistry behind the phospholipid-form EPA named in the producer's documents, and it is why culture conditions, not only strain, decide the EPA figure of a given lot.
In fish oil, EPA is carried mainly as triglycerides; in Nannochloropsis biomass it is carried mainly as polar lipids, which disperse in water. Whether the polar-lipid form is absorbed differently in humans is a research question, not a settled fact. A methodological review of omega-3 bioavailability (Progress in Lipid Research, 2014) concluded that the human data do not allow a conclusion for triglyceride versus phospholipid forms, that animal data suggest differences, and that most comparative studies are limited by design. We therefore describe the EPA form as a characteristic of the material, not as an absorption advantage.
The human research on Nannochloropsis EPA has been done on a concentrated polar-lipid oil extracted from the alga (over 25% EPA, over 15% polar lipids), not on whole-cell powder. In a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study in 120 generally healthy adults, participants took 1 g per day of the extract or placebo for 12 weeks; the measured endpoints were the Omega-3 Index, EPA concentration in blood and blood lipid markers (Nutrients, 2020). The authors report differences from placebo on these endpoints. We cite the study for what it tells a developer about the ingredient class: Nannochloropsis EPA is taken up into blood lipids in humans. The extract studied is a different material from this powder, and the published results are not a claim for the finished product you make from it.
Palmitoleic acid (16:1 n-7) is a monounsaturated omega-7 fatty acid found in macadamia and sea-buckthorn oils and in some microalgae; in this powder it is reported at 3 g per 100 g. Beta-glucan here is the algal polysaccharide of the cell wall, reported at 2.5 g per 100 g; it is a different molecule from the cereal beta-glucans used in oat and barley products and should not be labelled as those. Folic acid is reported at 2 mg per 100 g together with the rest of the B-group vitamins, beta-carotene and vitamin K. These are composition facts from the producer's analysis; what they mean for a finished product is decided by the serving size and by the nutrient-content rules of your market.
Cultivated microalgae are grown, not fished. The producer runs the alga in greenhouse-covered pools in Okinawa, in Japan's subtropical south, year-round, which keeps the culture away from birds, insects and airborne organisms, and carries the biomass through harvest, sterilisation and spray-drying within one organisation. For a buyer this means traceability to a single cultivation site and a documented process, which is the usual basis for a premium over commodity microalgae powders sold by the tonne.
Start at the minimum order. Free sample. Specification, SDS and lot CoA on request.
Request a sample or quotationMost of the microalgae powder traded for human nutrition is spirulina or chlorella: green whole-food powders valued for protein, pigments and minerals. Nannochloropsis belongs to the same category of use but brings a different lipid profile. In the producer's comparison, the EPA content of the powder is roughly ten times that of euglena, spirulina or chlorella, and palmitoleic acid (omega-7) is present at 3 g per 100 g against 0.13 to 0.16 for the other three. The protein is complete, with an amino acid score of 100 (euglena 89, spirulina 70, chlorella 99 in the same table). A formulator who already uses a greens powder can therefore add an algal omega-3 and omega-7 story without adding a second ingredient.
The powder is used in three directions. Vegan omega-3 and greens supplements, where it is the EPA-bearing component of a blend; beauty-from-within and whole-food formulations, where the 61-nutrient panel and the omega-7 fraction carry the story; and cosmetics, where microalgal biomass and its lipids are used as actives. Beyond human nutrition the producer also names hatchery and livestock feed, fertiliser, pharmaceutical research and biofuel programmes among the uses of the alga. If you need a finished product rather than the ingredient, our Tomioka Plant in Gunma produces capsules, tablets and stick packs from 5,000 units per SKU.
Nannochloropsis is dosed in grams, not milligrams, so ingredient cost per serving is meaningful and capsule count rises quickly at whole-food servings. The formats that work are a hero inclusion of a few hundred milligrams inside a vegan omega-3 or greens blend, single-serve sticks and sachets, functional beverages and bars, and cosmetic bases. Keep the bag sealed between uses and protect the powder from light and humidity, as with any chlorophyll- and lipid-rich algal material. Specific shelf-life and storage conditions are confirmed with the specification sheet.
Regulatory treatment of Nannochloropsis biomass as a food ingredient differs by market. In the European Union, microalgal biomass without a documented history of consumption before 1997 falls under the novel food regulation and requires authorisation before use in food; this applies to the whole-biomass powder, while cosmetic use is governed by cosmetic rules. In other markets the status is decided by the local food authority and by the company that registers the finished product. We supply the composition data and documents; the label claim and the market status are confirmed by your regulatory team. Related pages: C-Phycocyanin Powder (spirulina-derived) and Fish Collagen Tripeptide.
Nannochloropsis is a genus of small marine microalgae (Eustigmatophyceae) known in phycology mainly for one thing: it synthesises eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), the long-chain omega-3 most people associate with fish. Fish do not make EPA themselves; they accumulate it from the microalgae at the base of the marine food web. A review of lipid production in Nannochloropsis (Marine Drugs, 2016) reports EPA contents from about 1% to 12% of dry weight across strains and culture conditions, and notes that the EPA sits mainly in polar lipids, the phospholipids and the galactolipids of the chloroplast membranes, rather than in storage triglycerides. That is the chemistry behind the phospholipid-form EPA named in the producer's documents, and it is why culture conditions, not only strain, decide the EPA figure of a given lot.
In fish oil, EPA is carried mainly as triglycerides; in Nannochloropsis biomass it is carried mainly as polar lipids, which disperse in water. Whether the polar-lipid form is absorbed differently in humans is a research question, not a settled fact. A methodological review of omega-3 bioavailability (Progress in Lipid Research, 2014) concluded that the human data do not allow a conclusion for triglyceride versus phospholipid forms, that animal data suggest differences, and that most comparative studies are limited by design. We therefore describe the EPA form as a characteristic of the material, not as an absorption advantage.
The human research on Nannochloropsis EPA has been done on a concentrated polar-lipid oil extracted from the alga (over 25% EPA, over 15% polar lipids), not on whole-cell powder. In a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study in 120 generally healthy adults, participants took 1 g per day of the extract or placebo for 12 weeks; the measured endpoints were the Omega-3 Index, EPA concentration in blood and blood lipid markers (Nutrients, 2020). The authors report differences from placebo on these endpoints. We cite the study for what it tells a developer about the ingredient class: Nannochloropsis EPA is taken up into blood lipids in humans. The extract studied is a different material from this powder, and the published results are not a claim for the finished product you make from it.
Palmitoleic acid (16:1 n-7) is a monounsaturated omega-7 fatty acid found in macadamia and sea-buckthorn oils and in some microalgae; in this powder it is reported at 3 g per 100 g. Beta-glucan here is the algal polysaccharide of the cell wall, reported at 2.5 g per 100 g; it is a different molecule from the cereal beta-glucans used in oat and barley products and should not be labelled as those. Folic acid is reported at 2 mg per 100 g together with the rest of the B-group vitamins, beta-carotene and vitamin K. These are composition facts from the producer's analysis; what they mean for a finished product is decided by the serving size and by the nutrient-content rules of your market.
Cultivated microalgae are grown, not fished. The producer runs the alga in greenhouse-covered pools in Okinawa, in Japan's subtropical south, year-round, which keeps the culture away from birds, insects and airborne organisms, and carries the biomass through harvest, sterilisation and spray-drying within one organisation. For a buyer this means traceability to a single cultivation site and a documented process, which is the usual basis for a premium over commodity microalgae powders sold by the tonne.
It is the whole dried cell of the marine microalga Nannochloropsis, cultivated in Okinawa, Japan, and spray-dried with no carrier. Spirulina and chlorella are valued as green whole-food powders; Nannochloropsis adds an omega-3 and omega-7 fraction on top of a complete protein. In the producer's comparison the powder contains EPA at about 4.6-5% against 0.2-0.5 for spirulina, chlorella and euglena, palmitoleic acid at 3 g per 100 g against 0.13-0.16, and an amino acid score of 100.
Minimum order 1 kg at 350 USD/kg, packed as a 1 kg sealed aluminium bag; larger orders are quoted by volume and freight is quoted on request. The powder ships from Japan 1-1.5 weeks after payment is received; payment is 100% prepayment by SWIFT or Stripe. A Certificate of Analysis travels with every lot. Iizuka Shoukai also manufactures finished capsules, tablets and stick packs at our Tomioka Plant in Gunma from 5,000 units per SKU.
It is the same molecule, eicosapentaenoic acid, but carried differently. In fish oil EPA is mainly in triglycerides; in Nannochloropsis biomass it is mainly in polar lipids (phospholipids and galactolipids), which disperse in water. The source is a cultivated alga, so the ingredient is plant-based, has no fish-derived material and no fish flavour. Whether the polar-lipid form is absorbed differently in humans is still an open research question, so we describe it as a characteristic of the material, not as a benefit.
Yes, it is plant-based with no animal-derived material and suits vegan and vegetarian products. The producer declares EPA as the omega-3 of the powder; DHA is not listed in the composition. If your formula needs DHA as well, it is added from another source.
