Open AccessSpirulina in Clinical Practice: Evidence‐Based Human Applications
Author(s) -
Petros D. Karkos,
Samuel Leong,
C. D. Karkos,
N. Sivaji,
Dimitrios Assimakopoulos
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.552
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1741-4288
pISSN - 1741-427X
DOI - 10.1093/ecam/nen058
Subject(s) - spirulina (dietary supplement) , clinical trial , arthrospira , clinical practice , medicine , randomized controlled trial , immune system , intensive care medicine , pharmacology , biology , immunology , cyanobacteria , physical therapy , ecology , raw material , genetics , bacteria
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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