Spirulina has demonstrated anticancer properties in in vitro and animal studies, but human clinical trials are scarce.
Spirulina contains several compounds that have individually been found to have anticancer properties, and of these, phycocyanin appears to have the greatest potential. Phycocyanin extracted from spirulina has been shown in pre-clinical research to induce cell death (apoptosis) in a variety of cancer cell lines and prevent the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), effectively inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells.[1]
Additionally, some research suggests that spirulina may enhance natural killer cell activity, which could have an antitumor effect.[2][3] Several clinical trials suggest that spirulina supplementation may reverse precancerous lesions in the mouth.[4][5][6][7]
References
- ^Silva MROBD, M da Silva G, Silva ALFD, Lima LRA, Bezerra RP, Marques DAVBioactive Compounds of spp. (Spirulina) with Potential Anticancer Activities: A Systematic Review.ACS Chem Biol.(2021-Nov-19)
- ^Nielsen CH, Balachandran P, Christensen O, Pugh ND, Tamta H, Sufka KJ, Wu X, Walsted A, Schjørring-Thyssen M, Enevold C, Pasco DSEnhancement of natural killer cell activity in healthy subjects by Immulina®, a Spirulina extract enriched for Braun-type lipoproteinsPlanta Med.(2010 Nov)
- ^Akao Y, Ebihara T, Masuda H, Saeki Y, Akazawa T, Hazeki K, Hazeki O, Matsumoto M, Seya TEnhancement of antitumor natural killer cell activation by orally administered Spirulina extract in mice.Cancer Sci.(2009-Aug)
- ^Mathew B, Sankaranarayanan R, Nair PP, Varghese C, Somanathan T, Amma BP, Amma NS, Nair MKEvaluation of chemoprevention of oral cancer with Spirulina fusiformisNutr Cancer.(1995)
- ^Patil S, Al-Zarea BK, Maheshwari S, Sahu RComparative evaluation of natural antioxidants spirulina and aloe vera for the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.J Oral Biol Craniofac Res.(2015)
- ^Prathima Shetty, Prashanth Shenai, Laxmikanth Chatra, Prasanna Kumar RaoEfficacy of spirulina as an antioxidant adjuvant to corticosteroid injection in management of oral submucous fibrosisIndian J Dent Res.(2013 May-Jun)
- ^Mulk BS, Deshpande P, Velpula N, Chappidi V, Chintamaneni RL, Goyal SSpirulina and pentoxyfilline - a novel approach for treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.J Clin Diagn Res.(2013-Dec)