Talk:Spirulina (dietary supplement)

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[edit] NeuronExMachina

The color of a flamingo's plumage is dependent on carotenes in the diet, including (especially) from shrimp. I've never heard of Spirulina coloring flamingos--surely zoos would use it instead of shrimp if they could, since it's cheaper.

Any comments on using spirulina as a dietary supplement for those who suffer chronic gout?

What does it taste like? --NeuronExMachina 08:47, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I just tried this "Odwalla superfood" stuff with spirulina in it, and it tastes like peaches. But that's because it is mostly peach juice.  :-) - Omegatron 20:22, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)
The following article notes that Spirulina pigments are responsible for some flamingo's colors. See Chemical Composition - Pigments. Unfortunately, there's no directly related citation for this fact. 23:18, Sep 14, 2006 (UTC+1)
http://www.javeriana.edu.co/universitas_scientiarum/vol8n1/J_bernal.htm


I know this is late in replying, but there's nothing on the main page about gout. So. Regarding spirulina and gout:
One of the main concerns about the consumption of microorganisms is their high content of nucleic acids that may cause disease such as gout. Spirulina contains 2.2%-3.5% of RNA and 0.6 %-1% of DNA, which represents less than 5% of these acids, based on dry weight. These values are smaller than those of other microalgae like Chlorella and Scenedesmus (Ciferri, 1983).
-- A review of Spirulina (Arthrospira)
So if you have a choice between Spirulina and other microalgae, go with the spirulina, but I would suggest instead going with vegetable sources of proteins and vitamins to minimize your risk. 99.240.167.55 (talk) 15:39, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] taxobox

I was going to change it to this, but you biology types probably know it better than me. It removes all the kingdom links and such:

Spirulina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Division: Cyanobacteria
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Nostocales
Family: Oscillatoriaceae
Genus: Spirulina
Species

Spirulina corakiana
Spirulina crispum
Spirulina labyrinthiformis
Spirulina laxa
Spirulina laxissima
Spirulina major
Spirulina meneghiniana
Spirulina nordstedtii
Spirulina princeps
Spirulina subsalsa
Spirulina subtilissima
Spirulina platensis
Spirulina tenerrima
Spirulina weissii

- Omegatron 20:22, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Nutrients

Why are the nutrients in little groups? If the grouping is important, label each. - Omegatron 20:22, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] dont say it has B12

don't still say spirulina has vitimin B12 in light of all the new evidence.

I've been digging around, and it apparently contains some B12, but more pseudo-B12, hence less true B12 than some analyses say. (eg, J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Nov;47(11):4736-41, "The major (83%) and minor (17%) analogues were identified as pseudovitamin B(12) and vitamin B(12), respectively, as judged from data of TLC, reversed-phase HPLC, (1)H NMR spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and biological activity using L. leichmannii as a test organism and the binding of vitamin B(12) to the intrinsic factor.") 67.119.13.131 07:39, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Can you survive only on Spirulina

I read about some Japanese monks living only on spirulina, and of course I heard about the ancient South Americans having it as a major part of their diets - but can you live on it totally, considering it is packed with goodies?

I'm not a veggie or a vegan, but 99% of my food intake is raw vegetables and fruit. Presently I snack on fruit throughout the day (bananas, advocados) and drink gallons of orange juice. In the evening I put in to my liquidizer the following - two bananas, two kiwi fruits, prune juice, advocado oil, pumpkin seed oil, pure orange juice and about three grams of spirulina. These all blend well in to a nice, but odd, dark green thick drink. I dislike the smell and taste of spirulina, but the sweetness of the fruit seems to cancel out the taste of the spirulina - and the oils certainly don't notice once everything is liquidized.

Now I read that spirulina supressed one's appetite - and I can honestly say this is true.

I did not intend to loose weight, but I have shed a few unnecessary pounds; my internal system is working like clockwork and I generally feel a whole lot better in myself - both mentally and physically.

As mentioned above, I'm not a vegetarian or even a vegan, and I will eat meat and other 'bad' things from time-to-time. Overall I feel great, but I'm wondering if I can go on eating in this fashion safely.

Better use it as a supplement rather than a Replacement; while the bacterium contains enough carbohydrate and lipid based compounds to meet your short term energy needs. It lacks essential amino acids required for your bodies health, lacks Coenzymes such as ascorbic acid and lacks needed cofactors such as iron. So in short while you wouldn’t starve to death on it if it were your only meal you would become anemic suffer from protein deficiency, and gain scurvy amongst many other things. Freepsbane 20:07, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] You probably shouldn't...

Although this is widely acclaimed to be one of the healthiest foods in existence, I've read from various experts, producers, and websites that one should not subsist on this alone. There are nutrients which you cannot get anywhere else. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to take this on a daily basis.

I actually talked with a friend a few days ago who was a Monk at a Zen Buddhist Monstery in Upstate New York - he said if the Monks there had a $100/month stipend, they would spend $50 of it on Spirulina.

A few days ago, I took some Spirulina powder for the first time and was rather skeptical (as I am with most things.) Immediately, my allergy symptoms disappeared and I felt ALOT better. I'm convinced this is very good for you.

[edit] Read this book

The best book about spirulina: http://www.truthpublishing.com/superfoods.html

hardly--Niro5 19:20, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
A better book: Spirulina Platensis (Arthrospira): Physiology, Cell-Biology And Biotechnology. Perdita 23:10, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] RNA DNA

Spirulina is a VERY rich source of RNA and DNA

Bacteria have very little DNA and RNA, they are a simple and ancient creature and just don't need much plants have as much DNA in their chloroplasts alone, and Animals have as much DNA in their mitochondria. Furthermore, you don't need to take in DNA or RNA, your body can create it more than easily enough by itself. Even if you did need to take in DNA or RNA, unless you are eating rocks, everything you eat contains DNA and RNA. This article is sorely lacking any scientific credibility. If you can find a legitimate source, I'm fine with it, but otherwise it needs to go.

Niro5 15:06, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't have a source for this but I would guess that Spirulina does have a lot of RNA at least, because bacteria have a very fast life cycle and therefore need to produce a lot of protein fast (spirulina especially has a lot of protein). Making proteins requires mRNA and ribosomes (which contain RNA as well). Also note that mitochondria have very small genomes (16 kilobases in humans - compare to an average bacterial genome of around 3 _mega_bases). Chloroplast DNA can be "bloated" compared to mitochondria, but is generally still smaller than a bacterial chromosome. 193.40.23.192 07:42, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sources

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Spirulinacs.html This article should be a good source, and also it lists many other sources that can be used. I'll integrate it when i have the time.--Niro5 20:43, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

If you are on a crusade to champion the benefits of Spirulina, suppressing contrary evidence and not using proper sources will not hep you. A rigorous mind will see this page, and realize that there is no evidence and disbelieve it for that very reason. I suggest deleting every unsupported controversial claim and starting over again, but this time with evidence, not belief.--Niro5 12:37, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Source (11) states that, "A more recently developed assay performed by a grower of spirulina has shown Spirulina to be a significant source of bioavailable B12."

However if you go to the link and read the full article, Dr. Todd Lorenz states: "Using the O. malhamensis assay in parallel to specifically measure human-active cobalamins the assay exhibits an average activity of 2.5 micrograms per 3 grams of Spirulina." But he provides NO REFERENCE for this study. You cannot look it up in any scientific journal. All other studies in Dr. Todd Lorenz's document have references, except the most important one that proves the point.

This is not a source. It is just a claim by Dr. Todd Lorenz, who works for Cyanotech, a maker of Spirulina. I could just as well make a claim that I did a study of Spirulina and it was loaded with B-12. Who would believe me, unless I could point to the source document?

Adamlove 03:02, 23 December 2006 (UTC) Adam Love gogogo-at-rogers.com

Source 11 is the reference for the statement in wikipedia; the basis for using the alternate assay is supported in the paper with two references. Just because it's not published in a journal doesn't mean it's "not a source." The wiki article states from the first that the B12 content is in dispute and gives references from both sides of the argument. Readers can follow the references and come to their own conclusions, just as you did. Perdita 17:41, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
That's a ridiculous argument, and very akin to what people say when they propose Intelligent Design in school curricula. "Just show them both sides and the kids will figure it out." This is an encyclopedia, not a message board. --Popoi (talk) 21:20, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

A legitimate scientific experiment is PUBLISHED SOMEWHERE. This is a reference to an experiment but it is not published, and not available to anyone for review, scientific or otherwise. There is no evidence that it exists. Would you use a drug based on a non-existent research paper?

Cyanotech suggests there is a legitimate study when there is no such thing.

I have altered the article to state that Cyanotech CLAIMS to have done an assay; this is the only accurate way to refer to it.

If other experiments (assays) are referenced in this article (for or against), they should also be tagged as claims, not legitimate studies.

Adamlove 03:02, 23 December 2006 (UTC)Adam Love

[edit] Berkeley Wellness Letter

It's good to show both sides of an issue, but I don't think this is an appropriate source. References should be made to published, primary sources. The claims here are no better than the claims on the other side in that they make no references of their own to support their assertions and are almost entirely non-specific. Further, their claim that "there’s no scientific evidence that blue-green algae can treat or cure any illness or has any health benefit," is simply not true. There are many sources to back up many of the claims.

In short, I agree with Niro5 that we ought to start over on this article and delete unsupported claims -- but the Berkeley Wellness Letter's claims are also unsupported.



[edit] Re-Name Article

The taxonomy in this area has been changing rapidly. The latest consensus I can find has two different genera, Spirulina and Arthrospira; the species associated with health food supplements belongs to Arthrospira, not to the genus Spirulina; however, the name the average person knows is "Spirulina."

I propose to re-name this article something along the lines of "Spirulina (Health Food Supplement)" and change the taxo box to the correct, current taxonomy for Arthrospira. I believe this should be done so that if someone wishes to start an article on the actual taxonomic genus Spirulina (which is not used in health food supplements), an easy distinction can be made between the two.

Alternately we could re-name this article "Arthrospira" and have searches on "Spirulina" re-directed here. Given the popularity of the name Spirulina, I would lean towards my first suggestion. Perdita 19:50, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nutrients and References

I've tried to document the nutrients included in Spirulina according to published research, and I've included the references. If you're going to change this area, you need to provide references to back up your changes. Recent changes did not reflect the references listed, and in some cases were simply wrong.

Concerning GLA, no mention is made of "recommended doses" of spirulina or comparisons to other sources of GLA. Primrose and other oils are extracts; spirulina is a whole food -- you can take as much as you want. The fact remains that spirulina is an unusually rich source of GLA. There are richer sources, but not many. The nutrients section makes no claims to spirulina being the "best" for anything; it simply lists what it contains.

Regarding vitamin A, spirulina contains beta-carotene which the body can convert to vitamin A, but spirulina itself contains no vitamin APerdita 00:02, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spirulina

There is a production of High Quality Spirulina here in Greece, in Serres. The guy has so high quality spirulina that is the Official supplier of NASA and it's austronauts. Don't you think it's worth a mention? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Everydaypanos (talk • contribs) 19:51, 20 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Encyclopedic?

This article reads more like an advertisement than an encyclopedic entry. --zandperl 01:05, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Check it out from a year ago if you want to see an advertisement -- at least now all factual claims are cited with references. Perdita 18:13, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

While I agree completely with the need for reputable citations, I believe there is a strong place (especially here) for anectodal information, as long as it is presented as such. Much too little value is put on the cultural and historic usage and beliefs.Laurenbove 14:28, 17 October 2007 (UTC)laurenbove

I wanted to thank you for this excellent, neutral article. It definitely deserves the word "encyclopedic". Brief, but full of facts. I love Wikipedia for articles like this one her (sadly forgot my passwort, so I can't sign it, sorry) --212.152.26.211 (talk) 15:50, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Spirulina Allergies

I am allergic to spirulina but I see no allergy warnings or possible side effects listed in the article. This article truly does read like a advertisement.

I am going to add the allergy warning as I have read of at least one other person getting an allergic reaction from it.24.83.178.11 00:37, 7 February 2007 (UTC)KnowledgeSeeker

I don't doubt what you say, but you must use cited references for material you add. Otherwise, I could say it cured my cancer and made me smart. Perdita 18:11, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
I totally agree with you. I'll look again for a reputable scientific source. I tried before but did not find anything worthwhile.24.83.178.11 08:45, 11 February 2007 (UTC)KnowledgeSeeker
Ok, so my allergic reaction might have been caused by AFA as opposed to spirulina. See this link:
http://www.tldp.com/issue/167/algae.html#2 . I guess I'll take the claim off if no one else minds or reports an allergic reaction also.24.83.178.11 10:33, 20 April 2007 (UTC)KnowledgeSeeker

[edit] BMAA

The section titled "Neurotoxins" says that cyanobacteria can produce BMAA "under certain conditions". Well? What conditions? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.71.245.81 (talk) 20:39, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

All of the references I could find indicated that dietary Spirulina was not one of the cyanobacteria tested for BMAA in the original study, which tested wild cyanobacteria, and at least one commercial producer of Spirulina has stated that their product tests negative for BMAA. I could not find any scientific reference associating BMAA with Spirulina. In my opinion, the Neurotoxins section of this article is misleading in that it implies guilt by association, and the section should be moved to the cyanobacteria article. However, I don't want to make a potentially controversial change without at least offering it for discussion first. To the commenter above, based on my limited research, I think that "under certain conditions" should be replaced with "some species of (but not Spirulina)" --68.183.70.19 (talk) 03:26, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Famous Advocates

Why is this part of the article? It sounds like a sales pitch or something... Why is it relevant to know specifically who has said good things about any dietary supplement? It makes the article look like a sheet from a sales catalogue. "don't take my word for it, look what these famous people has to say!". --Popoi (talk) 21:27, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

On second look, it's an advertisement, and I will remove it and the reference that links to a page that sells spirulina. --Popoi (talk) 22:43, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] MkSoley

I removed your link, it was pointing to a page that was under construction. Also, refrain from using all-uppercase as you were in the reference. It was not really clear how the page you linked to was relevant to the article. --Popoi (talk) 23:04, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 2007 book

this appears to have gathered studies together http://books.google.ca/books?id=Vz7SpjEsE3IC

ps a lot of the external links at the bottom of this article are shit