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COVID-19
Published in Stephen T. Sinatra, Mark C. Houston, Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2022
Fruits and vegetables contain a wealth of phytochemicals like carotenes, polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanidins. Bitter greens are also of great value in counteracting COVID-19. Bitter greens such as dandelion and arugula fortify the liver and enhance natural killer and T-cell production.44 The inclusion of whole grains and legumes in the diet provides fiber, and prebiotics along with B vitamins and zinc promote gut health and interaction of the GALT with the complete immune system. Flax seed is a source of anti-inflammatory omega-3s, but fish oil is a better source, as plant-based omega-3s are predominantly in the form of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) which must be converted to EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) to have an effect.45 Less than 1% is converted to EPA and DHA indicating that fish-sourced omega-3s are the only effective form. One complication of COVID-19 is coagulation defects including microthrombi. Natural products, besides omega-3s which are evidence-based blood thinners, include turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and garlic. Other supplements and treatments which have shown benefit include high-dose vitamin C, vitamin K2, magnesium, and hydrotherapy including saunas and whirlpool baths. Finally, spirulina has been shown using in vitro studies to have antiviral activity and also positive immune modulation.46
Antioxidant Effects of Peptides
Published in Mesut Karahan, Synthetic Peptide Vaccine Models, 2021
Rümeysa Rabia Kocatürk, Fatmanur Zehra Zelka, Öznur Özge Özcan, Fadime Canbolat
Spirulina platensis is the only blue-green algae that is grown commercially for food use. It is a good food source due to its high protein content and natural biochelate vitamins. A mixture of these two sources rich in protein was found to be successful in preventing liver damage induced by CCl4 (hepatotoxin) in an in vivo study (Gad et al. 2011).
Phycochemical screening and standard parameter determination of Spirulina plantesis, Chlorella vulgaris, and Euchema spinosum, cultivated in Indonesia
Published in Ade Gafar Abdullah, Isma Widiaty, Cep Ubad Abdullah, Medical Technology and Environmental Health, 2020
I.T. Maulana, L. Mulqie, K.M. Yuliawati, Y. Sukarman, N.A. Suhara, N.A. Suhara, R. Safira
Three algae, namely Spirulina platensis, Chlorella vulgaris, and Eucheuma spinosum, are known to have many health benefits. Spirulina plantesis is known to be easily digested and absorbed by the human body (Choi et al. 2013), and to be rich in phycocyanin compounds, cyanocobalamin, tocopherols, carotenoids, and sulfated polysaccharide. Spirulina is also known to inhibit lipid oxidation, and have anti-aging, antitumor, antioxidants (Okechukwu et al. 2019, Choi et al. 2013), and antidiabetic (Okechukwu et al. 2019) properties. Chlorella vulgaris is known as a source of an organic and inorganic bioactive substance (Muszyńska et al. 2018), flavonoids (Ahmed 2016), steroids and triterpenoids, phenolic compounds (Adhoni et al. 2016), considerable chlorophyll (Chia et al. 2013, Safafar et al. 2016) and also contains Chlorellin compounds that are suspected to be antibacterial (Asadi et al. 2016, Shannon & Abu-Ghannam 2016, Ghasemi et al. 2007). However, Chlorella vulgaris is not a good source of minerals such as zinc, iron, magnesium (Muszyńska et al. 2018). Chlorella vulgaris is known to be able to inhibit the growth of E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and S. Pyogenes bacteria (Shannon and Abu-Ghannam 2016, Syed et al. 2015, Ghasemi et al. 2007). Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina plantesis have been also recognized as a single-cell protein source supplement (Kose et al. 2017).
Antiinflammatory Activities of Curcumin and Spirulina: Focus on Their Role against COVID-19
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2023
Angelica Perna, Eleonora Hay, Carmine Sellitto, Emiliano Del Genio, Maria De Falco, Germano Guerra, Antonio De Luca, Paolo De Blasiis, Angela Lucariello
Spirulina is a genus of cyanobacteria, belonging to the Oscillatoriaceae family, consisting of filamentous cyanobacteria characterized by rectilinear cell chains enclosed in a thin sheath. It grows in salt (>30 g/l) and freshwater, in high temperature (between 35 and 37 °C) and highly alkaline conditions (pH 8.5–11.0), can be collected and processed easily and has a very high macro and micronutrient content. Three species of spirulina (Spirulina platensis, Spirulina maxima, and Spirulina fusiformis) are the most studied for their high nutritional content with therapeutic values (Deng and Chow 2010). It has achieved important acclaim in the food industry and progressively as a protein and vitamin supplement in diets. Spirulina has long been used as a dietary complement by people living in places where it can be easily found, such as near lakes (Ali and Saleh, n.d). Several animal and human clinical trials (Karkos et al., 2011; Naeini et al. 2021; Satyaraj et al. 2021) to determine its valuable effects as a supplement have been conducted over the years and have allowed it to be established that spirulina could be used as a low-cost nutritional supplement and it has no adverse health effects (Anvar and Nowruzi 2021).
Potential Protective Effect of Spirulina Platensis on Sodium Arsenite Induced Cardiotoxicity in Male Rats
Published in Tissue Barriers, 2022
Amal Albtoosh, Fardous Karawya, Wesam Al-Naymat, Aiman Al-Qaitat
Plants and herbs have been used throughout the world as treatment agents. The Spirulina is a filamentous blue-green alga that is normally found in tropical and subtropical areas in warm alkaline water. Spirulina platensis (SP) is a cyanobacterium, which has a mounting attention for of its nutritional value and pharmacological properties. It is characterized by high nutritional value where it contains high protein content (60–70% by dry weight), plenty of vitamins, amino acids, gamma-linoleic acid, and minerals. Spirulina has protective effects against oxidative stress and this effect is associated to C-phycocyanin. Phycocyanin reduced ischemia-reperfusion of cardiac dysfunction by its antioxidant and anti-apoptotic activities. It also has neuroprotective effects. Limited studies have stated the therapeutic implications of Spirulina for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.22–24 The intake of Spirulina as a diet supplement has health benefits in preventing or managing hypercholesterolemia, hyperglucagonemia, obesity, inflammation, cancer, antidiabetic effect and cardiovascular disease.18 These activities were mainly associated to phycocyanin, a dynamic protein of Spirulina. It has been reported that Phycocyanin has significant antioxidant and radical scavenging properties, offering protection against oxidative stress. Antioxidants can minimize arsenic toxicity via chelating it and scavenging free radicals. It was reported that Phycocyanin could bind with heavy metals; hence, it can chelate and remove them.25–27
Investigation of hepatoprotective effect of some algae species on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats
Published in Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 2020
F. Altinok-Yipel, I. O. Tekeli, S. Y. Ozsoy, M. Guvenc, S. Sayin, M. Yipel
While the use of algae was limited to traditional household remedy, become a popular alternative treatment due to bioactive components that do not exist in terrestrial nutrients (proteins, polyphenols and polysaccharides) and pharmacologic characteristics. Chlorella (Ch) is a microalgae that contains strong antioxidant compounds (lutein, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, α- and β-carotene) and has hypoglycaemic, hypocholesterolaemic, antioxidant and immunostimulant effects (Shibata et al. 2007, Li et al. 2013, Ebrahimi-Mameghani et al. 2014). Spirulina (Sp) is a blue-green algae that have metabolic (hypolipidaemic, hypoglycaemia), antiviral, liver protective, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune-supportive properties (Karkos et al. 2011, Mazokopakis et al. 2014). Laminaria (La) has anticancer, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects due to fucoidan and phenolic compounds (Seok et al. 2015). Sargassum (Sa) has hypolipidemic effects and beneficial in eczema, scabies, lung diseases and renal dysfunctions due to its free radical-eliminating effect (Motshakeri et al. 2014).