Summary of COVID-19 spirulina studies
1. Aghasadeghi et al., Effect of high-dose Spirulina supplementation on hospitalized adults with COVID-19: a randomized controlled trial
189 patient spirulina late treatment RCT: 85% lower mortality (p=0.0002) and 75% higher hospital discharge (p=0.003).RCT 189 hospitalized COVID-19 patients showing lower mortality and faster recovery with spirulina. Spirulina treatment also resulted in greater reductions in inflammatory markers such as IL-6, TNF-a, IP-10, CRP, ESR, and ferritin. All patients received remdesivir. Spirulina contains many components including calcium spirulan, a sulfated polysaccharide shown to inhibit the replication of various enveloped viruses in vitro, and many nutrients showing benefits for COVID-19 including vitamins A, C, and D, selenium, and zinc.
Apr 2024, Frontiers in Immunology, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1332425/full, https://c19p.org/aghasadeghispi
2. Shadnoush et al., Effects of Spirulina platensis Supplementation on COVID-19 Severity in Critically Ill Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial
126 patient spirulina ICU RCT: 3% higher mortality (p=0.93), 26% shorter ICU admission (p=0.007), 17% lower need for oxygen therapy (p=0.64), and 20% shorter hospitalization (p=0.001).RCT 192 critically ill COVID-19 ICU patients showing reduced SOFA score, hospital stay and ICU stay with spirulina supplementation (5g/day), but no significant difference in mortality, NEWS2 score, APACHE score, NUTRIC score, or respiratory support at discharge.
Sep 2024, J. Cellular and Molecular Anesthesia, https://brieflands.com/articles/jcma-149015, https://c19p.org/shadnoushspi
3. Reis et al., Effect of spirulina on risk of hospitalization among patients with COVID-19: the TOGETHER randomized trial
1,126 patient spirulina early treatment RCT: 21% higher progression (p=0.29).RCT 1,126 patients in Brazil showing no significant differences with low dose spirulina. The dose used was 7.6 times lower than the dose used by [Aghasadeghi] which shows significantly lower mortality. eFigure 1 shows 12 events in the treatment group before the first event in the placebo group. The probability of this happening is very low, ~ 0.001. One possible cause would be if some process resulted in patients expected to visit the ER soon being more likely to be placed in the treatment group. (Another possibility is treatment side effects causing ER visits, however the were fewer adverse events and fewer severe adverse events in the treatment group).
Aug 2024, The American J. Clinical Nutrition, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916524005884, https://c19p.org/reis13spi