Spirulina scientific reference library. Over 100 references covering 30 years of international research.

Antitumoral agents containing phycobilin- also used to treat ulcers and hemorrhoidal bleeding.
by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals and Tokyo Kenkyukai. 1983. Patent 58065216 A 830418. Japan.

Effect of spirulina on the renal toxicity induced by inorganic mercury and cisplatin.
by H. Fukino, et al. 1990. Pub. in Eisei Kagaku, 36:5, 1990. Japan.

Kidney toxicity caused by mercury was suppressed by feeding spirulina to rats. A water-soluble extract of spirulina, containing phycocyanin, the natural blue pigment, was examined. Renal (kidney) toxicity in rats caused by para-Aminophenol (pain reliever) and Cisplatin (anti-cancer) was significantly reduced by the phycocyanin extract of spirulina. Researchers concluded that phycocyanin plays a major role in the protective effect of spirulina against renal failure caused by mercury and pharmaceutical drugs and that spirulina might be applicable to the reduction of general renal disfunction.

Effects of polysaccharide and phycocyanin from spirulina on peripheral blood and hematopoietic system of bone marrow in mice.
by Zhang Cheng-Wu, et al.. April 1994. Nanjing Univ. China. Pub. in Proc. of Second Asia Pacific Conf. on Algal Biotech. Univ. of Malaysia. China.

C-phycocyanin and polysaccharide were isolated and purified from spirulina. By using the techniques of colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E) culture of fetal liver cells in mice in vitro, C-phycocyanin was found to possess high erythropoietin (EPO) activity. The effects of polysaccharide and phycocyanin on the periphyeral blood and bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progentitor cell in normal, irradiated and anemic mice were studied. These studies demonstrate the unique capacity of C-phycocyanin and polysaccharide to influence the differentiation and proliferation of committed hematopoietic progenitor cell. Stimulated recovery by C-phycocyanin and polysaccharide was observed in leukocyte and bone marrow nucleated cell counts and the number of CFU-GM colony formation in mice after single whole-body gamma-ray irradiation. The C-phycocyanin and polysaccharide can lower the anemic degree of mice combined with the treatment of gamma-ray irradiation and benzohydrazine hydrochloric acid peritonerl injection.