Spirulina

_{Powder option}

Please select either 4 or 8 ounces of dried spirulina

Serving size of dried Spirulina is 1-2 teaspoons with up to three servings a day.

Further Information

Essential Mineral Content

Nutritional Information

‍

Gamma-linolenic acid represents only 10-20% of fatty acids in S. maxima, i.e. 1-2% of dry matter (23, 32, 49), compared to 40% in S. platensis, or some 4% of dry weight. Thus spirulina can be considered one of the best known source of gamma-linolenic acid, after human milk and some little used vegetable oils (evening primrose, borage, blackcurrant seed and particularly hemp oil) (15).

The presence of gamma-linolenic acid (18:3 omega-6) is worth stressing in view of its rarity in everyday foods and its presumed high nutrient value. Normally synthesised in humans from linoleic acid (18:2 omega-6) of vegetable origin, gamma-linolenic acid can nevertheless be beneficently directly assimilated even in cases of disorders or shortfall in endogenous synthesis (44). The importance of these fatty acids lie in their biochemical evolution: they are the precursors of the prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxanes that serve as chemical mediators of inflammatory and immune reactions.

‍

‍

Beta-carotene accounts for 80% of the carotenoids present in spirulina, the remainder consisting mainly of physoxanthin and cryptoxanthin (51). Each kilogram of dry spirulina contains between 700 and 1700mg of beta-carotene and about 100mg of cryptoxanthin; these two carotenoids are convertible into Vitamin A by mammals. For adults Vitamin A requirements are estimated at less than 1mg per day (24), one to two grams of spirulina are easily sufficient to cover them. Moreover, the absence of retinol (free Vitamin A) rules out a possible risk of overdose, as beta-carotene, unlike Vitamin A, is not cumulatively toxic.

‍

‍

Wild Harvested Spirulina toxicity reports

Antioxidant, Immunomodulating, and Microbial-Modulating Activities of the Spirulina

‍Therapeutic value of spirulina: studies and prospects

It is useful to mention here some of the work linking this product to the treatment of various pathological conditions.

• Iron deficiency anaemia (see «minerals and trace elements»)
• Pernicious anaemia (see «Vitamin B12")
• Vitamin A deficiency (see «pro-Vitamin A»)
• Inhibition of mother-child transmission of HIV (see «pro-Vitamin A»
• Inhibition of infection of T4 helper cells by HIV (see «fatty acids»)
• Protein-energy disorders (see «nutritional trials in human subjects»)
• Cancer prevention through provision of carotenoids (see «pro-Vitamin A»)
• Radiological protection (see «carbohydrates»)
• Strengthening immune defences (see «carbohydrates»)

‍

"Such a profusion of therapeutic applications - genuine or supposed - is bound to leave spirulina with the image of a miracle potion. The fact remains that a simple natural food supplement, endowed with the riches of this product, could well improve a good number of pathological conditions. This is specially so in a world population that is tending to divide itself into the underfed in the developing countries and the badly fed in the industrialised countries." Falquet Jacques et al.

‍

PHYTOREMEDIATION

Sources

Finamore A, Palmery M, Bensehaila S, Peluso I. Antioxidant, Immunomodulating, and Microbial-Modulating Activities of the Sustainable and Ecofriendly Spirulina. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:3247528. doi: 10.1155/2017/3247528. Epub 2017 Jan 15. PMID: 28182098; PMCID: PMC5274660.

Li, K., Liu, S., & Liu, X. (2014). An overview of algae bioethanol production. International Journal of Energy Research, 38(8), 965–977.doi:10.1002/er.3164

Falquet, Jacques, and J. P. Hurni. "The nutritional aspects of Spirulina." Antenna Foundation (1997).

Belay, Amha et al. “Current knowledge on potential health benefits of Spirulina.” Journal of Applied Phycology 5 (1993): 235-241.

Furmaniak, Magda & Misztak, Agnieszka & Franczuk, Martyna & Wilmotte, Annick & Waleron, Malgorzata & Waleron, Krzysztof. (2017). Edible Cyanobacterial Genus Arthrospira: Actual State of the Art in Cultivation Methods, Genetics, and Application in Medicine. Frontiers in Microbiology. 8. 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02541.

Volkman, 2008 https://www.scielo.br/j/cta/a/BcDSzjNcN753mfqxGhVr4vy/?format=pdf&lang=en

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍