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      Spirulina in Clinical Practice: Evidence-Based Human Applications

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          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.

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          Calcium spirulan, an inhibitor of enveloped virus replication, from a blue-green alga Spirulina platensis.

          T. Hayashi, K Hayashi, M Maeda … (1996)
          Bioactivity-directed fractionation of a hot H2O extract from a blue-green alga Spirulina platensis led to the isolation of a novel sulfated polysaccharide named calcium spirulan (Ca-SP) as an antiviral principle. This polysaccharide was composed of rhamnose, ribose, mannose, fructose, galactose, xylose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, sulfate, and calcium. Ca-SP was found to inhibit the replication of several enveloped viruses, including Herpes simplex virus type 1, human cytomegalovirus, measles virus, mumps virus, influenza A virus, and HIV-1. It was revealed that Ca-SP selectively inhibited the penetration of virus into host cells. Retention of molecular conformation by chelation of calcium ion with sulfate groups was suggested to be indispensable to its antiviral effect.
          Article 0 comments Cited 124 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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            Microalgae as food and supplement.

            R Kay (1991)
            The microalgae Chlorella spp., Dunaliella spp., and Scenedesmus spp., and the cyanobacteria Spirulina spp., and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, are being used as nutrient-dense foods and sources of fine chemicals. They have significant amounts of lipid, protein, chlorophyll, carotenoids, vitamins, minerals, and unique pigments. They may also have potent probiotic compounds that enhance health. Their historical and current use are reviewed in this article.
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              Activation of the human innate immune system by Spirulina: augmentation of interferon production and NK cytotoxicity by oral administration of hot water extract of Spirulina platensis.

              Tomohiro Hirahashi, Misako Matsumoto, Kaoru Hazeki … (2002)
              Spirulina platensis is a cyanobacterial species that is surmised to potentiate the immune system leading to suppression of cancer development and viral infection. Here, we identified the molecular mechanism of the human immune potentiating capacity of Spirulina by analyzing blood cells of volunteers with pre and post oral administration of hot water extract of Spirulina. NK functions represented by IFN gamma production and cytolysis were enhanced after administration of Spirulina in >50% subjects. IFN gamma was produced in an IL-12/IL-18-dependent fashion. In vitro stimulation of blood cells with BCG cell wall skeleton (CWS) allowed more potent IL-12 p40 production in cells from volunteers given Spirulina than in cells without pre-exposure to Spirulina. As BCG-CWS serves as a ligand for Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and 4 to raise the maturation stage of monocytes/macrophages, Spirulina may be involved in the signaling responses through Toll in blood cells even when orally administered. These observations indicated that in humans Spirulina acts directly on myeloid lineages and either directly or indirectly on NK cells. The presence of co-operative IL-12 and IL-18 is critically important for NK-mediated IFN gamma production.
              Article 0 comments Cited 66 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
                Journal ID (publisher-id): ECAM
                Title: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM
                Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation
                ISSN (Print): 1741-427X
                ISSN (Electronic): 1741-4288
                Publication date (Print): 2011
                Publication date (Electronic): 19 October 2010
                Publication date PMC-release: 19 October 2010
                Volume: 2011
                Electronic Location Identifier: 531053
                Affiliations
                1Department of Otolaryngology, Liverpool University Hospitals, Liverpool, UK
                2Department of Surgery, Hippocrateio Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
                3Department of Otolaryngology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
                Author notes
                Article
                Publisher ID: nen058
                DOI: 10.1093/ecam/nen058
                PMC ID: 3136577
                PubMed ID: 18955364
                SO-VID: 644877fc-c8ad-4928-b9b9-9aa51be016a5
                Copyright © Copyright © 2011 P. D. Karkos et al.
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 11 March 2008
                Date accepted : 20 August 2008
                Categories
                Subject: Review Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Complementary & Alternative medicine
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Complementary & Alternative medicine

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