X-Message-Number: 25704
Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 12:26:36 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: could spirulina reverse dementia?

[Chlorella and Phaeodactylum tricornutum may offer some benefits as well.]

J Neurosci. 2002 Jul 15;22(14):6114-20.
Diets enriched in foods with high antioxidant activity reverse
age-induced decreases in cerebellar beta-adrenergic function and
increases in proinflammatory cytokines.
  Antioxidants and diets supplemented with foods high in oxygen radical
absorbance capacity (ORAC) reverse age-related decreases in cerebellar
beta-adrenergic receptor function. We examined whether this effect was
related to the antioxidant capacity of the food supplement and whether an
antioxidant-rich diet reduced the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in
the cerebellum. Aged male Fischer 344 rats were given apple (5 mg dry
weight), spirulina (5 mg), or cucumber (5 mg) either in 0.5 ml water by
oral gavage or supplied in the rat chow daily for 14 d. Electrophysiologic
techniques revealed a significant decrease in beta-adrenergic receptor
function in aged control rats. Spirulina reversed this effect. Apple (a
food with intermediate ORAC) had an intermediate effect on cerebellar
beta-adrenergic receptor physiology, and cucumber (low ORAC) had no
effect, indicating that the reversal of beta-adrenergic receptor function
decreases might be related to the ORAC dose. The mRNA of the
proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and
TNFbeta was also examined. RNase protection assays revealed increased
levels of these cytokines in the aged cerebellum. Spirulina and apple
significantly downregulated this age-related increase in proinflammatory
cytokines, whereas cucumber had no effect, suggesting that one mechanism
by which these diets work is by modulation of an age-related increase in
inflammatory responses. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured as a marker of
oxidative damage. Apple and spirulina but not cucumber decreased MDA
levels in the aged rats. In summary, the improved beta-adrenergic
receptor function in aged rats induced by diets rich in antioxidants is
related to the ORAC dose, and these diets reduce proinflammatory cytokine
levels.

Phytother Res. 2003 Apr;17(4):330-4
Protective effect of Spirulina on lead induced deleterious changes in the
lipid peroxidation and endogenous antioxidants in rats.
  The present study aims to investigate the protective effect of Spirulina
on lead-induced changes in the levels of lipid peroxidation and
endogenous antioxidants in liver, lung, heart, kidney and brain of rats.
Levels of elemental lead were also measured in the organs of rats in all
experimental groups. In the liver, lung, heart and kidney of lead-exposed
animals, there was a significant (p < 0.001) increase in the lipid
peroxidation and a decrease in the levels of endogenous antioxidants.
Although, Spirulina did not affect the deposition of lead in organs apart
from the brain, simultaneous administration of Spirulina to lead exposed
animals significantly (p < 0.001) inhibited lipid peroxidation and
restored the levels of endogenous antioxidants to normal. To conclude,
Spirulina had a significant effect on scavenging free radicals, thereby
protecting the organs from damage caused by the exposure to lead. Further
more, Spirulina showed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the
deposition of lead in the brain.

Biol Pharm Bull. 2002 Aug;25(8):1090-2
Effect of docosahexaenoic acid-fortified Chlorella vulgaris strain CK22
on the radial maze performance in aged mice.
  Effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [22: 6(n-3)]-fortified Chlorella
oil fraction on radial maze performance was studied in aged mice. Male ICR
mice aged 9 months were fed a diet containing 2 g DHA-fortified Chlorella
oil fraction/100 g diet or normal diet (Control group) for 2 months. Two
months after the start of feeding, the mice were tested for learning
ability related to 2 types of memory, reference memory and working
memory, with the partially (4 of 8) baited eight-arm radial maze.
Reference memory is a kind of information that should be retained until
the next trial. Working memory is a kind of information that disappears in
a short time. Entry into the unbaited arms and repeated entry into the
visited arms were defined as reference memory errors and working memory
errors, respectively. DHA-fortified Chlorella oil fraction administration
to mice for 2 months resulted in a significant decrease in the number of
working memory errors without affecting the number of reference memory
errors. A significant increase in the DHA content in the brain was also
observed. These results suggest that the intake of DHA-fortified
Chlorella oil fraction effectively enhances working memory in maze
performance.

Planta Med. 1997 Oct;63(5):465-6
Oral administration of a unicellular green algae, Chlorella vulgaris,
prevents stress-induced ulcer.
  Oral administration of dry powder of Chlorella vulgaris (CVP) showed
clear prophylactic effects in water-immersion restraint stress-induced
and in cysteamine-induced peptic ulcer models, but not in Shay's rat
model. Drugs that enhance the protective factors of ulcer formation are
effective in the first two models. CVP may prevent ulcer formation mainly
through the "immune-brain-gut" axis and protection of gastric mucosa by
its own characteristics.

Environ Pollut. 1989;60(1-2):29-45.
Survival, growth and reproduction of Daphnia carinata (Crustacea:
Cladocera) exposed to chronic cadmium stress at different food
(Chlorella) levels.
  In nature, organisms have to respond to a diversity of factors acting
simultaneously. The present investigation was conducted to study whether
changes in food (Chlorella) levels could modify the chronic toxicity of
cadmium on the various life-history parameters, such as survivorship,
longevity, life expectancy, fecundity, age at first reproduction, R(0), T,
r and growth rates of the cladoceran Daphnia carinata. The study
indicated that at low food levels (0.5 x 10(6) cells ml(-1) Chlorella),
cadmium concentrations in the range of 27-162 microg litre(-1) reduced
these life-history parameters by 50% (EC(50)). At medium food levels (1.5
x 10(6) ml(-1) Chlorella) the EC(50) of cadmium was in the range of
51-127 microg litre(-1). At high food levels (4.5 x 10(6) cells ml(-1)
Chlorella), the toxic effect of cadmium was greatly reduced. The
decreases in survival, growth and reproduction of D. carinata at high
cadmium-low food levels affected the fitness parameter 'r'. The study
emphasises the need to include reproductive parameters other than mere
survival in toxicity bioassays. The study also stresses the need to
incorporate in laboratory tests other relevant factors that might modify
pollutant toxicity.

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Jun;1019:219-22
Algae extract protection effect on oxidized protein level in human
stratum corneum.
  Modification of proteins by reactive oxygen species is implicated in
different disorders. The proteasome is a multicatalytic proteinase in
charge of intracellular protein turnover and of oxidized proteins
degradation. Consequently, proteasome function is very important in
controlling the level of altered proteins in eukaryotic cells. Evidence
for a decline in proteasome activity during skin photo-aging has been
provided in Bulteau et al. in 2002. The ability of a lipid algae extract
(Phaeodactylum tricornutum) to stimulate 20S proteasome peptidase
activities was described by Nizard et al. in 2001. Furthermore,
keratinocytes treated with Phaeodactylum tricornutum extract and then UVA
and UVB irradiated, exhibited a sustained level of proteasome activity
comparable to the one of nonirradiated cells. The level of modified
proteins can be quantified by measurement of protein carbonyl
content (Oxyblot technique), which has been shown to increase with aging
and other disorders. In this paper, it is described that, in the presence
of this lipid algae extract, the level of oxidized proteins is reduced,
as assessed by the Oxyblot technique. These results are obtained both
with culture of human keratinocytes and stratum corneum skin cells
(obtained by stripping) from human volunteers. Altogether, these results
argue for the presence of compounds in this algae extract that have a
stimulating and/or protective effect on proteasome activity, resulting in
a decreased level of protein oxidation.

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