Algae, salt, and sun?

[Runninfarmer]

I saw on a dirty jobs episode where this company made vitamins by placing agae in salt water and leaving it in direct sunlight. The algae then started to turn red. The company supposedly got vitamins out of this stuff. Doess anybody know what I'm talking about, cause I wasnted to try this out for myself?

[Mr Skeptic]

Pretty much everything makes vitamins (especially plants). No biggie, unless they made GM algae with extra vitamins.

[Runninfarmer]

I don't give a crap if they make vitamins, I just want to know what the whole process of this algae turning red is and how to do it at home. I only talked about vitamins, to explain what they were doing. I care more about the process .

[insane_alien]

well maybe you should have made that clearer in the OP. obviously, the salt does something to the chlorophyl in the algae. i would assume that getting some algae putting it in slat water in sunlight at home would produce the same effect. it would help if you knew the type of algae they used.

[DrDNA]

I don't give a crap if they make vitamins, I just want to know what the whole process of this algae turning red is and how to do it at home. I only talked about vitamins, to explain what they were doing. I care more about the process .

 

You're not going to get a lot of help with that attitude bucko.

[Mr Skeptic]

I don't give a crap if they make vitamins, I just want to know what the whole process of this algae turning red is and how to do it at home. I only talked about vitamins, to explain what they were doing. I care more about the process .

 

Well if the color was due to vitamins, it would likely be beta-carotene (the color of carrots, and also used as food coloring). If not, it might be the red equivalents of chlorophyll found in deeper sea levels (red light penetrates farther). Without knowing more we can't help you.

[insane_alien]

or it could just be a red algae. there are also algae that vary colour with pH (hint hint)

[Runninfarmer]

Pretty much everything makes vitamins (especially plants). No biggie, unless they made GM algae with extra vitamins.

 

 

i only had that "attitude" because Mr. skeptic made me look like an idiot in the first place. Of course plants have vitamins in them, I was clearly after an explanation of what was going on. But since I don't have much more info, everybody can stop being d-bags about the whole thing.

[SkepticLance]

In strong sunlight, and strong salt solution, certain photosynthetic bacteria, with the highly coloured compound bacterio-rhodopsin, will grow. Strong salt excludes most other organisms, leaving only halophiles (salt lovers) to thrive.

[Mr Skeptic]

i only had that "attitude" because Mr. skeptic made me look like an idiot in the first place. Of course plants have vitamins in them, I was clearly after an explanation of what was going on. But since I don't have much more info, everybody can stop being d-bags about the whole thing.

 

My apologies. Seeing as you mentioned vitamins in half the sentences you used, I thought that was what you were talking about. I had meant it as a clarification, not as an insult. You could as easily say I am the idiot for not understanding you; I'm not sensitive that way.

[dichotomy]

I'll take a stab.

 

Possibly spirulina, blue-green algae.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirulina_%28dietary_supplement%29