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Media Releases USF researchers report that Spirulina may offe...

USF researchers report that Spirulina may offer protection against Lou Gehrig’s Disease or ALS

Nutritional supplementation with Spirulina, a nutrient-rich, blue-green algae, appeared to provide neuroprotective support for dying motor neurons in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, University of South Florida neuroscientists have found. Although more research is needed, they suggest that a spirulina-supplemented diet may provide clinical benefits for ALS patients.

A spirulina dietary supplement was shown to delay the onset of motor symptoms and disease progression, reducing inflammatory markers and motor neuron death in a G93A mouse model of ALS. Spirulina, an ancient food source used by the Aztecs, may have a dual antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on motor neurons, the researchers said.

The study compared ALS mice receiving a spirulina-supplemented diet over a 10-week period with mice that did not receive the diet supplementation. The spirulina-fed ALS mice showed reduced inflammatory markers and motor neuron degeneration over that period.

Their study is published in the current issue of The Open Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Journal (3:36-41).

"ALS is a degenerative motor neuron disease," said the study's lead author, Svitlana Garbuzova-Davis, PhD, DSc, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair at USF. "Most available treatments relieve symptoms without altering the underlying disease. However, evidence for oxidative stress has been associated with ALS and, in our past studies, we demonstrated potent decreases in markers of oxidative damage and inflammation in aged rats fed diets supplemented with spirulina or spinach. In this initial study, the diet supplement was fed only to pre-symptomatic mice. Further studies showing the diet supplement's effect on the lifespan of symptomatic ALS mice are needed to prove the treatment's effectiveness."

“Earlier, Paula Bickford’s group at USF primarily, and others have demonstrated Spirulina’s protective effects in various animal models of inflammation including stroke and aging” says Amha Belay, Ph. D., Senior Vice president and Chief Technology Officer of Earthrise Nutritionals. “There is now enough evidence from animal studies to warrant a human clinical study.”

Earthrise Nutritionals, LLC is the largest producer of Spirulina in the USA. Our root extends back to 30 years producing high-quality Spirulina in the Southern California desert. We have grown into a company with a solid base of quality Spirulina and Spirulina-based products, distributed in over 20 countries around the globe.