Beneficial Effects of Spirulina Consumption on Brain Health.
Teresa TrottaAnnalisa PorroAntonia CianciulliMaria Antonietta PanaroPublished in: Nutrients (2022)
Spirulina is a microscopic, filamentous cyanobacterium that grows in alkaline water bodies. It is extensively utilized as a nutraceutical food supplement all over the world due to its high levels of functional compounds, such as phycocyanins, phenols and polysaccharides, with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulating properties both in vivo and in vitro. Several scientific publications have suggested its positive effects in various pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, obesity, hypertension, tumors and inflammatory diseases. Lately, different studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective role of Spirulina on the development of the neural system, senility and a number of pathological conditions, including neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. This review focuses on the role of Spirulina in the brain, highlighting how it exerts its beneficial anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, acting on glial cell activation, and in the prevention and/or progression of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Multiple Sclerosis; due to these properties, Spirulina could be considered a potential natural drug.
Keyphrases
- anti inflammatory
- multiple sclerosis
- white matter
- oxidative stress
- cerebral ischemia
- cardiovascular disease
- resting state
- healthcare
- blood pressure
- public health
- metabolic syndrome
- type diabetes
- human health
- insulin resistance
- mental health
- multidrug resistant
- single cell
- weight loss
- functional connectivity
- emergency department
- cognitive decline
- cell therapy
- neuropathic pain
- weight gain
- mesenchymal stem cells
- electronic health record
- coronary artery disease
- blood brain barrier
- skeletal muscle