Your algae supplement might carry hidden toxins from blue-green algae
Rajput S, Jain S, Mandal N, Mehrotra A, Pandey VK
Medicinal Plants
If you or someone in your household takes Spirulina or Chlorella capsules for a health boost, this review is a reminder that the water where these algae grow can harbor toxic cousins that end up in the same bottle.
Spirulina, Chlorella, and a few other algae-based supplements are grown in water that sometimes also hosts cyanobacteria, the organisms behind toxic algal blooms you might see warnings about at lakes. This review pulls together what scientists know about how those cyanobacteria toxins, like microcystins and BMAA, sneak into supplement products and cause damage to the liver, brain, kidneys, heart, lungs, and gut once consumed. The big takeaway: supplement testing hasn't caught up with how popular these products have become, so long-term safety for regular users is still an open question.
Key Findings
Reviewed contamination of Arthrospira (Spirulina), Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, and Chlorella supplements by at least seven major cyanotoxin classes, including microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin, anatoxins, saxitoxins, and BMAA.
Liver toxicity mechanism centers on disruption of serine/threonine protein phosphatases, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress, leading to inflammation, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis risk.
Toxins also drive organ-specific damage in the brain (excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation), kidneys, gut, heart, lungs, and reproductive system, with major gaps remaining in chronic low-dose exposure and bioavailability data from supplements.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Spirulina, Chlorella, and similar algae supplements can be contaminated with toxins from cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that damage the liver, nervous system, kidneys, and other organs. Researchers warn that current testing and regulation aren't keeping pace with how widely these supplements are used.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Health Risks of Cyanotoxin Contamination in Dietary Supplements: Mechanistic Insights into Organ-Specific Toxicity.
Cyanotoxin contamination of cyanobacteria- and microalgae-derived dietary supplements poses an emerging public health concern despite their widespread use for nutritional and therapeutic purposes. ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Spirulina is a genus of cyanobacteria. Despite its name, the "spirulina" dietary supplement actually uses the dried biomass of cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Arthrospira .