Scientists investigating the health enhancing properties of spirulina have identified that its atheroprotective activity may be due to it having a protein with a similar structure to bilirubin.
Traditionally eaten by the Aztecs, spirulina is now easily available in tablet and powder forms © Shutterstock
Spirulina, a blue–green algae taken as a food supplement, has gained cult superfood status because it is packed full of proteins, polysaccharides and vitamins. It has also sparked a craze of urban gardening – barrels of the edible algae are being grown on rooftops in Bangkok, Thailand. Although its atheroprotective effects are well established, scientists have been unsure about the mechanism behind its activity.
Now a team, led by Petr Nachtigal at Charles University in Prague, say they are closer to the answer. Spirulina’s atheroprotective activity was already thought to be due to an algal protein complex called phycocyanobilin (PCB). PCB is structurally related to the human bile pigment bilirubin, which is clinically proven to protect against oxidative-stress related diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Read the full article in Chemistry World»
Read the original journal article in Food & Function:
Spirulina platensis and phycocyanobilin activate atheroprotective heme oxygenase-1: A possible implication for atherogenesis
Zbynek Strasky, Lenka Zemankova, Ivana Nemeckova, Jana Rathouska, Ronald J Wong, Lucie Muchova, Iva Subhanova, Jana Vanikova, Katerina Vanova, Libor Vitek and Petr Nachtigal
Food Funct., 2013, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C3FO60230C
