Marine algae appeared 3.5 billion years ago and are some of the first known traces of life. These algae created the atmosphere and still produce between 50% and 70% of the planet's oxygen.

More than 25,000 species have been catalogued around the world. With approximately 1,200 species, Brittany lays claim to one of the most diversified algae environments on earth. This high number can be explained by the relative mildness of its water temperatures, the jagged coastline and the tidal phenomena that result in the exchange of substances and organisms.

Algae are classified according to their color and the pigments they contain:

• Green algae, tinted by the presence of chlorophyll.
• Brown algae, whose pigments mask their chlorophyll and which include the fucus and laminaria families. These are essentially used to extract certain mucilage, alginates and mannitol.
• Red algae, which are found at greater depths where yellow and green radiation is practically absorbed. These include Delesseria Sanguinea, which is used in pharmacology for its effects on oxygen conveyance to facilitate blood flow, as well as for its hemostatic properties and its trace element content.

Special Properties of Marine Algae

Marine algae are subjected to numerous stresses—periods of dehydration during low tide plus changes in temperature, light, salinity, pH factor, currents and wind—which makes them particularly compelling.

They absorb and concentrate the mineral substances in seawater and also produce vitamins and proteins.

• Anti-viral properties
  Phycarine^® (active ingredient patented by Laboratoire de la Mer,
  extracted from the Laminaria Digitata brown alga)
• Astringent and hemostatic properties
  Delesseria Sanguinea
• Draining and detoxifying properties
  Fucus Serratus
• Nutritional properties
  Ulva Lactuca, which is remarkable for its concentration in nutrients, particularly proteins,
  vitamin A, vitamin B12, folic acid, iron and calcium