Spirulina and Brain

Petaluma, Calif.; July 26, 2002 / PR Newswire / A team of scientists in the U.S. found that Earthrise® Spirulina reversed the degenerative effects of aging on the brain.

The scientists are from the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tampa, Florida; the Center for Aging and Brain Repair, Department of Neurosurgery, University of South Florida; the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Health Science Center, and their study was published in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

The authors applied standard electrophysiological techniques to compare neuronal function in young (4 month-old) and old (20 month-old) rats fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with Spirulina, apple, or cucumber (5 mg daily for 14 days). Young rats fed the control diet had a significantly higher neuronal activity than aged rats fed the control diet. When old rats were fed a diet supplemented with Spirulina, the activity of their neurons reverted to the higher level observed in young rats. Apple showed an intermediate effect while cucumber had no effect at all.


This reversal by Spirulina of neuronal degeneration was found to be associated with Spirulina’s antioxidant effect, which this study determined to be 300 times more potent than that of apple. Only 5 mg of Spirulina was supplemented daily for a total of only 70mg during the entire 14-day study period.

In a back-to-back study published in the same Journal, the group also found that the antioxidant effect of spinach resulted in improved motor skills learning in rats. In this second study as well as a number of other studies by the group, the oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC) of fruits and vegetables correlated significantly with increase in learning motor skills in rats. Though these studies on learning behavior in rats were done using other fruits and vegetables, Spirulina is expected to have the same effect due to its high ORAC value.

"These new studies add to the mounting evidence on the role of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables in reducing age-related declines in central nervous system function" says Dr. Amha Belay, Scientific Director, Earthrise Nutritionals. "The present study points to the potential application of Spirulina (a micro-vegetable) in the prevention or mitigation of neuro-degenerative effects of damage by oxygen radicals."

Earthrise Nutritionals became the first American company to introduce Spirulina as a natural food in 1979, leading the green food revolution. Today the company markets its popular trademarked products in the USA and in 30 other countries around the world from its sales and marketing offices in Petaluma, California. Earthrise Spirulina products are available in the supplement section of most health food stores. Earthrise Spirulina is grown under controlled conditions following FDA good manufacturing practices (GMP), and under an ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Earthrise Nutritionals, Inc. is the only ISO 9001 registered Spirulina company in the world. This strict quality assurance system guarantees the safety, quality and consistency of the product.

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