Spirulina platensis for COVID-19

Considering the anti-viral effects of Spirulina platensis (Sp), this study investigated the impact of Sp on impaired blood biomarkers of patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) with COVID-19. Therefore, 104 patients (aged 48-66; 61.5% male) were randomly assigned to the Sp (daily consumption of 5 g) or placebo group for two weeks. Linear regression analysis was employed to assess the differences in blood test results between the control and intervention groups among patients with COVID-19. Our results showed significant differences in certain hematological tests, including a higher level of hematocrit (HCT) and a lower platelet count (PLT) in the intervention group (p<0.05). The percentage of lymphocytes (Lym%) in serology testing was significantly different between the control and intervention groups (p=0.03). In terms of biochemical test analyses, Sp supplementation was associated with reduced levels of both blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (p=0.01). Furthermore, on day 14, the intervention group displayed significantly higher medians of serum protein, albumin, and zinc compared to the control group (p<0.05). Additionally, patients supplemented with Sp had a lower BUN-albumin ratio (BAR) (p=0.01). No immunological and hormonal differences were observed between groups following two weeks. Our analysis indicates that Sp supplementation may be effective in regulating some blood test abnormalities associated with COVID-19. This study was registered at ISRCTN as IRCT20200720048139N1.