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Pond Scum Makes a Health Splash

Dec. 11, 2000 -- The lowly single-celled Spirulina -- a form of blue-green algae that thrives in brackish pond water -- has hit the big time. Not only has the World Health Organization endorsed it as a vitamin- and protein-rich food supplement for undernourished people, a group of California researchers has recently suggested the organism may help protect against infectious diseases, and even cancer.

Predictably, however, experts advise you don't dash down to the pond just yet. Not enough studies have been done to determine the safety of using Spirulina pills or powders, they point out, and although the plant's vitamins and minerals may indeed have health benefits, you would have to eat an awful lot of algae to see any of them.

Still, scientists are considerably interested in the ancient plant. In the current issue of The Journal of Medicinal Foods, M. Eric Gershwin, MD, an allergy and immunology specialist at the University of California, Davis, describes a lab experiment in which he and colleagues added Spirulina algae to human immune system blood cells and then documented an increase in the production of proteins, called cytokines, that fight infection.

"Spirulina stimulates cytokines that we use to fight colds," Gershwin tells WebMD. "This is basically the equivalent of eating a concentration of very nutritious vegetables."

In their paper, Gershwin and colleagues refer to previous studies praising the potential health benefits of Spirulina. One study showed that it works as a natural antihistamine in rats, helping to ease their allergies. Another showed that in chickens it increases the activity of cells that kill infected and cancerous cells.

"I'm not recommending that people go out every day and eat Spirulina, but this is a supplement that has potential to help the immune system," Gershwin says.

One worrisome aspect of Spirulina is that it is also high in beta-carotene, which a number of vitamin studies have concluded has no particular health benefit when taken as a supplement and may even cause a higher risk of lung cancer, especially in smokers. (Gershwin points out that the participants in those studies were taking very high doses of beta-carotene.)

In any case, experts agree that Spirulina is not a cure-all.

According to Mayo Clinic doctors, while Spirulina's protein, beta-carotene, and vitamin B-12 could certainly help people who are malnourished, it's doubtful they would do much to keep already well-nourished people healthy. The vitamin B-12 in Spirulina is not as easily absorbed by the body as it is from animal products, they say. In addition, Spirulina is an expensive source of protein -- about $70 a month.

"Whether these plants have bona fide benefits over a long period of time -- who knows?" says David Karp, MD, PhD, assistant professor of immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "All things that come from plants have some effect, but they would have to be studied for a long period to find out if [they're] significant."