Spirulinain Clinical Practice: Evidence-Based Human Applications

Abstract

Spirulina or Arthrospira is a blue-green alga that became famous after it was successfully used by NASA as a dietary supplement for astronauts on space missions. It has the ability to modulate immune functions and exhibits anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting the release of histamine by mast cells. Multiple studies investigating the efficacy and the potential clinical applications of Spirulina in treating several diseases have been performed and a few randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews suggest that this alga may improve several symptoms and may even have an anticancer, antiviral and antiallergic effects. Current and potential clinical applications, issues of safety, indications, side-effects and levels of evidence are addressed in this review. Areas of ongoing and future research are also discussed.

Preclinical antitoxic properties ofSpirulina(Arthrospira)

“…Concerning the anti-toxic activity of Spirulina in humans, it has been shown that the algae, in association with zinc, were useful in the treatment of chronic arsenicosis (Misbahuddin et al, 2006), a condition affecting countries such as Bangladesh, Chile, India, Mexico, and Taiwan (Karkos et al, 2011).…”

The Effect of a combination of 12% spirulina and 20% chitosan on macrophage, PMN, and lymphocyte cell expressions in post extraction wound

“…Previous research has even shown spirulina to have an immune modulatory effect on lymphocytes by significantly increasing IFN-.2 production. 21 The increased number of lymphocyte cells in the treatment group is also due to chitosan that exhibits biocompatible and biodegradable properties. The latter allow chitosan to be broken down into micromolecules so that they are easily absorbed by the body without causing toxicity, thereby enabling it to be used as an analgesic, anti-tumor, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and wound healing agent.…”

Characteristic of Arthrospira platensis Enhanced Antioxidant Activity

“…platensis 내 지질은 식품과 의약품 그리고 재생 가능한 바이오매스로 활용이 가능하다. 미세조류의 중성지질 함량 은 배양 조건에 따라 축적률이 달라진다고 보고되며 기존 작 물에 비해 약 50~100 배 이상 높은 지질 생산량을 자랑한다 [7]. Fig.…”