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Spirulina Anti-Viral Studies

Inhibition of HIV-1 replication by an aqueous extract of Spirulina (arthrospira platensis). by Ayehunie S. (1), Belay A. (2), Hu Y. (1), Baba T. (1,3), Ruprecht R. (1). (1) Laboratory of Viral Pathogenesis, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; (2) Earthrise Farms, Calipatria, CA; (3) Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA. 7th IAAA Conference, Knysna, South Africa April 17, 1996.

Water extract of Spirulina platensis (Arthrospira platensis) inhibits HIV-1 replication in human derived T-cell lines and in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. A concentration of 5-10 (mcg/ml was found to reduce viral production and/or syncytium formation of about 50%, and a concentration of 100 (mcg/ml showed a 90-100% inhibition without cytotoxicity. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) for cell growth was computed to be between 2-6.5 mg/ml depending on the cell types used; the therapeutic index was >100. The extract also blocked Rauscher murine leukemia virus (RLV)-induced plaques by >95% at concentrations ranging from 75-150 (mcg/ml; the 50% reduction in plaque formation (the 50% effective concentration EC50) was at a concentration of 9-30 (mcg/ml. The extract directly inactivated HIV-1 infectivity when preincubated with virus prior to addition to human T-cell lines at similar inhibitory concentrations.

Calcium Spirulan, an inhibitor of enveloped virus replication, from a blue-green alga Spirulina. by Hayashi et al. 1996. Pub. in Journal of Natural Products, 59, 83-87. Japan.

Bioactivity-directed fractionation of a hot H2O extract from a blue-green-alga Spirulina platensis led to the isolation of a novel sulfated polysaccharide named Calcium Spirulan (Ca-SP) as an antiviral principle. This polysaccharide was composed of rhamnose, ribose, mannose, fructose, galactose, xylose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, sulfate and calcium. Ca-SP was found to inhibit the replication of several enveloped viruses, including Herpes simplex virus type 1, human cytomegalovirus, measles virus, mumps virus, influenza A virus and HIV-1. It was revealed that Ca-SP selectively inhibited the penetration of virus into host cells. Retention of molecular conformation by chelation of calcium ion with sulfate groups was suggested to be indispensible to its antiviral effect