Antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory effects of Spirulina in disease conditions: a systematic review

Abstract

The goal of this review was to critically evaluate the research on the effects of Spirulina (SP) supplementation on pathological conditions in the general population, considering its antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory properties. On a total of 1621 records screened, eighteen studies published between 2001 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. Despite variability in research methodology and patient conditions, the findings of these studies generally support the benefits of supplementing diet with SP in subjects with both transmittable and non-transmittable diseases. Improvements were found for all the conditions studied, with the only exception of male infertility. However, the number of clinically controlled trials examining the effects of SP on specific health conditions is still very low, and some studies show medium quality. Further research in this field is needed to confirm the possible clinical role of Spirulina supplementation in parallel with medical therapies.

Keywords:

• Spirulina
• antioxidant
• immunomodulatory
• anti-inflammatory
• clinical implication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research - Operative Research Programme “Research and innovation” 2014–2020 under grant ARS01_01166, project “Development of Nutraceutical Products from Natural Sources - BIONUTRA”.