Chlorella

Spirulina powder and tablets algae nutritional supplement heap surface close up top view, background

Over the years I have witnessed my clients improve their health and wellness through the adoption of a proper plant-based diet. Best results are achieved when consuming a diet that is rich in sprouts & microgreens, wheatgrass juice, algae and sea vegetables. These foods are easily accessible and are clearly beneficial to our health. I recommend that we all consume a few forms of green and blue-green algae, and in this article I will explain the many benefits of chlorella.

What is Chlorella?

Chlorella is a single-cell green algae that grows in fresh water. It is one of the most studied and consumed functional foods in the world, and has many biological merits for promoting optimal health and well-being. Chlorella is regarded by many scientists as an important whole-food supplement that should be included as a key component of a healthy diet.

Chlorella Health Benefits:

Boosts immune system.
Detoxifies the body of heavy metals, radiation residues, pesticides and herbicides.
Inhibits the absorption and supports the elimination of dioxins from the body.
Reduces body fat percentage.
Prevents side effects of radiation and chemotherapy during cancer treatment.
Helps to fight and prevent cancer.
Increases white blood cell counts (especially in people with HIV infection or cancer).
Prevents colds and fights infections.
Helps reduce damage caused by smoking and pollution.
Reduces oxidative stress and slows the aging process.
Promotes bowel health and helps with constipation.
Treatment for ulcerative colitis.
Stops bad breath.
Lowers blood pressure.
Relieves premenstrual syndrome.
Improves symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Lowers cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
Helpful with blood sugar regulation, for both hyper and hypo glycemic episodes.
Helps to reduce food cravings.
Is composed of over 60% clean protein that is easily digested.
Chlorella Growth Factor, a unique complex compound rich in nucleic acids, provides essential nourishment for healthy cell reproduction and protection.
Rich in chlorophyll.
Impressive nutritional profile that includes a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids.
Used by athletes to aid in recovery.
Regarded by scientists as an important whole-food supplement that should be included as a key component of a healthy diet.

How to know if you are buying a good chlorella?

The chlorella that I consume and supply for my clients is Prime Chlorella^TM. Here are five tips for ensuring that you are purchasing a high quality chlorella:

Heavy metals: ask for a lab report conducted by a third party to check for heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and aluminum. Do not be deceived by the words “non-detected”, always ask for a number. Prime Chlorella^TM, tested by a Canadian Lab, shows mercury levels below 0.001ppm, at least 10 times better than most chlorella on the market. Prime Chlorella^TM has the best standard of detection limit for heavy metals and is regarded as the purest chlorella.
Country of origin: chlorella is grown outdoors in fresh water pools in China, Japan, and Taiwan. The safest and cleanest chlorella comes from Taiwan.
Purity: make sure that the chlorella is 100% pure, with no preservatives, coatings, colourings, flavourings, additives, binders or excipients.
Species: chlorella pyrenoidosa and chlorella vulgaris are the most studied. They both provide excellent nutrition. Chlorella pyrenoidosa has a higher concentration of some nutrients, including Chlorella Growth Factor, and it is well known to have a strong ability to bind with toxins to bring them out of the body safely.
Cell wall treatment process: chlorella needs to have its cell walls broken in order to become highly digestible. The most common method is milling (or dyno mill for some products), however, this process is destructive to the nutrients contained within the cell walls. The newer and better method, invented by German scientists, uses sound vibrations to crack the cell walls without compromising the nutrients. This is the best technology available today, and the one used to produce Prime Chlorella^TM.

For all of the reasons above, Prime Chlorella^TM is sold mostly through health practitioners’ offices in North America. Doctors test Prime Chlorella^TM along with other brands of chlorella before recommending it to their patients. Prime Chlorella^TM is also sold under other brands in Japan and Germany, where the standard of chlorella is very high.

Thank goodness that we still have access to some of the most nutrient dense whole foods, such as chlorella, that provide us with the support we need in an increasingly more stressful environment. For those of you interested in more information, below is a categorized list of studies showing the many potential benefits of chlorella, published in peer reviewed medical and scientific journals across the world. What stands out the most is chlorella’s ability to naturally eliminate all harmful heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides that accumulate in our body.

Marc Jaoude
Naturopath, Health Educator
Nutrition & Exercise Specialist

Scientific Studies

Anti-inflammatory

Stimulation of cytokine production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by an aqueous Chlorella extract. Ewart HS1, Bloch O, Girouard GS, Kralovec J, Barrow CJ, Ben-Yehudah G, Suárez ER, Rapoport MJ. Planta Med. 2007 Jul;73(8):762-8. Epub 2007 Jul 5. Conclusions: “We conclude that Chlorella pyrenoidosa extract (CPE) stimulation of human PBMC induces a Th1-patterned cytokine response and a strong anti-inflammatory regulatory cytokine response, observations that await confirmation in vivo.”

Antioxidation

Six-week supplementation with Chlorella has favorable impact on antioxidant status in Korean male smokers. Lee SH1, Kang HJ, Lee HJ, Kang MH, Park YK. Nutrition. 2010 Feb;26(2):175-83. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2009.03.010. Epub 2009 Aug 5. Conclusions: “Chlorella supplementation resulted in the conservation of plasma antioxidant nutrient status and improvement in erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities in subjects. Therefore, our results are supportive of an antioxidant role for Chlorella and indicate that Chlorella is an important whole-food supplement that should be included as a key component of a healthy diet.”

Antioxidant effect of the marine algae Chlorella vulgaris against naphthalene-induced oxidative stress in the albino rats. Vijayavel K1, Anbuselvam C, Balasubramanian MP. Mol Cell Biochem. 2007 Sep;303(1-2):39-44. Epub 2007 Apr 25. Conclusions: “The present results suggest that Chlorella vulgaris extract exerts its chemo-preventive effect by modulating the antioxidants status and lipid peroxidation during naphthalene intoxication.”

Atherosclerosis

Preventing dyslipidemia by Chlorella pyrenoidosa in rats and hamsters after chronic high fat diet treatment. Cherng JY1, Shih MF. Life Sci. 2005 May 13;76(26):3001-13. Conclusions: “The total cholesterol/HDL ratios, an indication of occurrence of coronary heart disease, were decreased in all CHFD treated grouped rats and hamsters which suggests administration of Chlorella pyrenoidosa could lower the occurring risk of heart diseases. In conclusion, Chlorella pyrenoidosa has the ability to prevent dyslipidemia in chronic high-fat fed animals and could be potential in use to prevent intestinal absorption of redundant lipid from our daily intake and subsequently to prevent hyperlipidemia as well as atherosclerosis.”

Athletics

Chlorella intake attenuates reduced salivary SIgA secretion in kendo training camp participants. Otsuki T1, Shimizu K, Iemitsu M, Kono I. Nutr J. 2012 Dec 11;11:103. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-11-103. Conclusions: “The green alga Chlorella contains high levels of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. We previously reported that a chlorella-derived multicomponent supplement increased the secretion rate of salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) in humans…Our results suggest that a use of a chlorella-derived dietary supplement attenuates reduced salivary SIgA secretion during a training camp for a competitive sport.”

Chlorella-derived multicomponent supplementation increases aerobic endurance capacity in young individuals . Sachiro Umemoto, Takeshi Otsuki1. J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2014 Sep;55(2):143-6 Conclusions: “We investigated the effects of Chlorella-derived supplementation on peak oxygen uptake during incremental maximal cycling in young individuals using a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study design. Seven men and three women (mean age, 21.3 year) were allocated to placebo or Chlorella tablets (15 tablets × twice per day) for 4 weeks, with at least a 6-week washout period between trials, in a randomized order. Peak oxygen uptake significantly increased after Chlorella supplementation (before vs after, 37.9 ± 1.9 vs 41.4 ± 1.9 ml/kg/min, p = 0.003), but not with placebo (39.4 ± 2.2 vs 40.1 ± 2.1 ml/kg/min, p = 0.38). The change in peak oxygen uptake over the 4-week trial was significantly greater in the Chlorella trial than in the placebo trial (3.5 ± 0.9 vs 0.7 ± 0.8 ml/kg/min, p = 0.03). These results suggest that Chlorella-derived multicomponent supplementation increases aerobic endurance capacity in young individuals..”

Body weight & obesity

A hot water extract of Chlorella pyrenoidosa reduces body weight and serum lipids in ovariectomized rats. Hidaka S1, Okamoto Y, Arita M. Phytother Res. 2004 Feb;18(2):164-8. Conclusions: “These results suggest that a dietary supplement of CGF may be useful to control the body weight and improve lipid metabolism of menopausal women.”

Nutrigenomic studies of effects of Chlorella on subjects with high-risk factors for lifestyle-related disease. Mizoguchi T1, Takehara I, Masuzawa T, Saito T, Naoki Y. J Med Food. 2008 Sep;11(3):395-404. Conclusions: “Chlorella intake resulted in noticeable reductions in body fat percentage, serum total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose levels.”

Chlorella methanol extract reduces lipid accumulation in and increases the number of apoptotic 3T3-L1 cells. Chon JW1, Sung JH, Hwang EJ, Park YK. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Aug;1171:183-9. Conclusions: “Obesity is a fast-growing problem that is reaching pandemic proportions. Chlorella has many biological merits for promoting health, including detoxification, boosting the immune system, and even reversing cancer. In this study, we found that methanol extract of Chlorella reduces lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. It has been postulated that these antiobesity effects could be a result of reducing adipogenesis.”

Cancer

Chlorella powder inhibits the activities of peptidase cathepsin S, PLA2, cyclooxygenase-2, thromboxane synthase, tyrosine phosphatases, tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme, calpain and kinases. Cheng FC, Feng JJ, Chen KH, Imanishi H, Fujishima M, Takekoshi H, Naoki Y, Shimoda M. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2009;60 Suppl 1:89-98. Conclusions: “These results reveal important potential biochemical activities to be developed that, if confirmed by in vivo studies, might be exploited for the prevention or treatment of several serious pathologies, including inflammatory diseases, immune and cancer.”

Chlorella vulgaris triggers apoptosis in hepatocarcinogenesis-induced rats. Mohd Azamai ES1, Sulaiman S, Mohd Habib SH, Looi ML, Das S, Abdul Hamid NA, Wan Ngah WZ, Mohd Yusof YA. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2009 Jan;10(1):14-21. Conclusions: Our study shows that CV has definite chemopreventive effect by inducing apoptosis via decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 and increasing the expression of caspase 8 in hepatocarcinogenesis-induced rats.”

Antiproliferative effects of carotenoids extracted from Chlorella ellipsoidea and Chlorella vulgaris on human colon cancer cells. Cha KH1, Koo SY, Lee DU. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Nov 26;56(22):10521-6. Conclusions: “These results indicate that bioactive xanthophylls of C. ellipsoidea might be useful functional ingredients in the prevention of human cancers.”

Effects of chlorella on activities of protein tyrosine phosphatases, matrix metalloproteinases, caspases, cytokine release, B and T cell proliferations, and phorbol ester receptor binding. Cheng FC1, Lin A, Feng JJ, Mizoguchi T, Takekoshi H, Kubota H, Kato Y, Naoki Y. J Med Food. 2004 Summer;7(2):146-52. Conclusions: “These results reveal potential pharmacological activities that, if confirmed by in vivo studies, might be exploited for the prevention or treatment of several serious pathologies, including inflammatory disease and cancer.”

Toll-like receptor 2 is at least partly involved in the antitumor activity of glycoprotein from Chlorella vulgaris. Hasegawa T1, Matsuguchi T, Noda K, Tanaka K, Kumamoto S, Shoyama Y, Yoshikai Y. Int Immunopharmacol. 2002 Mar;2(4):579-89. Conclusions: These results suggest that TLR2 signaling is at least partly involved in the antitumor activity of the water-soluble antitumor glycoprotein from C. vulgaris.

Chlorella vulgaris culture supernatant (CVS) reduces psychological stress-induced apoptosis in thymocytes of mice. Hasegawa T1, Noda K, Kumamoto S, Ando Y, Yamada A, Yoshikai Y. Int J Immunopharmacol. 2000 Nov;22(11):877-85. Conclusions: “A glycoprotein prepared from Chlorella vulgaris culture supernatant (CVS) is a biological response modifier (BRM) which exhibits protective activities against tumor metastasis and 5-fluorouracil-induced immunosuppression. We here show that oral administration of CVS prevented significantly the apoptosis of thymocytes in mice undergoing psychological stress in a communication box. Mice were exposed to the emotional stress for 14 days by witnessing other mice being exposed to foot-shock. The numbers in thymocytes, especially CD4(+)CD8(+) population, were decreased significantly and apoptotic cells, as assessed by Annexin V expression, were reciprocally increased after the exposure to the psychological stress. C. vulgaris culture supernatant (CVS) administration significantly suppressed the increase in serum corticosterone level in the psychologically stressed mice. These results suggest that CVS prevents psychological stress and maintain homeostasis in the face of external environmental changes.”

Inhibitory potential of Chlorella vulgaris (E-25) on mouse skin papillomagenesis and xenobiotic detoxication system. Singh A1, Singh SP, Bamezai R. Anticancer Res. 1999 May-Jun;19(3A):1887-91. Conclusions: “The results suggest the chemopreventive potential of Chlorella during peri-, post- or peri- and post-initiational stages of murine skin papillomagenesis.”

A novel glycoprotein obtained from Chlorella vulgaris strain CK22 shows antimetastatic immunopotentiation. Tanaka K1, Yamada A, Noda K, Hasegawa T, Okuda M, Shoyama Y, Nomoto K. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 1998 Feb;45(6):313-20. Conclusions: “We conclude that CVS augments antimetastatic immunity through T cell activation in lymphoid organs and enhances recruitment of these cells to the tumor sites. Presurgical treatment with CVS might prevent metastasis or tumor progression.

Anti-tumor promotion with food phytochemicals: a strategy for cancer chemoprevention. Murakami A1, Ohigashi H, Koshimizu K. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1996 Jan;60(1):1-8. Conclusions: “The anti-tumor promoting properties of vegetables, fruits, and edible marine algae, together with their active constituents and action mechanisms thus far known, are also described. Anti-tumor promotion with food phytochemicals may be characterized as an efficient and reliable strategy for cancer chemoprevention.”

Inhibitory effects of sterols isolated from Chlorella vulgaris on 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced inflammation and tumor promotion in mouse skin. Yasukawa K1, Akihisa T, Kanno H, Kaminaga T, Izumida M, Sakoh T, Tamura T, Takido M. Biol Pharm Bull. 1996 Apr;19(4):573-6. Conclusions: Inhibitory activity against 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inflammation in mice was observed in the methanol extract of Chlorella vulgaris, a green alga.”

Anti-tumor-promoting glyceroglycolipids from the green alga, Chlorella vulgaris. Morimoto T1, Nagatsu A, Murakami N, Sakakibara J, Tokuda H, Nishino H, Iwashima A. Phytochemistry. 1995 Nov;40(5):1433-7. Conclusions: Two new monogalactosyl diacylglycerols were isolated from the freshwater green alga, Chlorella vulgaris, as anti-tumour promoters, together with three monogalactosyl diacylglycerols and two digalactosyl diacylglycerols. The new monogalactosyl diacylglycerol containing (7Z,10Z)-hexadecadienoic acid showed a more potent inhibitory effect toward tumour promotion than the other glycerolipids isolated.

Antitumor activity of marine algae. Hiroyuki Noda, Hideomi Amano, Koichi Arashima, Kazutosi NisizawaHydrobiologia September 1990, Volume 204, Issue 1, pp 577-584. Conclusions: “Powdered tissue from 46 species of air-dried marine algae (four green, 21 brown and 21 red algae) were screened for antitumor activity. Significant activity against Ehrlich carcinoma was found in the brown algae Scytosiphon lomentaria (69.8% inhibition), Lessonia nigrescens (60.0%), Laminaria japonica (57.6%), Sargassum ringgoldianum (46.5%), the red algae Porphyra yezoensis (53.2%) and Eucheuma gelatinae (52.1%) and the green alga Enteromorpha prolifera (51.7%). Five brown and four red algae showed appreciable antitumor activity against Meth-A fibrosarcoma.”

The influence of chlorella and its hot water extract supplementation on quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Noguchi N1, Maruyama I1, Yamada A2. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:704619. Conclusions: “The findings suggested the beneficial effects of Chlorella on breast cancer-related QOL and of Chlorella extract on vitality status in breast cancer patients. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study.

Protective effect of an acidic glycoprotein obtained from culture of Chlorella vulgaris against myelosuppression by 5-fluorouracil.. Konishi F1, Mitsuyama M, Okuda M, Tanaka K, Hasegawa T, Nomoto K. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 1996 Jun;42(5):268-74. Conclusions: “CVS reduced the incidence of indigenous infections and this effect was attributable to the acceleration of recovery from 5FU-induced myelosuppression. Early recovery of hematopoietic stem cells, or cells responding to interleukin-3 or granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor, was especially observed in the bone marrow of CVS-treated mice on days 4-9 after the injection of 5FU. When tumor-bearing mice were given CVS during treatment with 5FU, CVS prolonged the survival of mice without affecting the antitumor activity of 5FU. In addition, CVS was itself shown to exert an antitumor effect. These results suggested that CVS may be beneficial for the alleviation of side-effects in cancer chemotherapy without affecting the antitumor activity of the chemotherapeutic agent.”

Cataracts

Antioxidant and anti-cataract effects of Chlorella on rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Shibata S1, Natori Y, Nishihara T, Tomisaka K, Matsumoto K, Sansawa H, Nguyen VC. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2003 Oct;49(5):334-9. Conclusions: These results indicate that Chlorella has antioxidant activity and may be beneficial for the prevention of diabetic complications such as cataracts.

Cholesterol

Hypocholesterolemic mechanism of Chlorella: Chlorella and its indigestible fraction enhance hepatic cholesterol catabolism through up-regulation of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase in rats. Shibata S1, Hayakawa K, Egashira Y, Sanada H. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2007 Apr;71(4):916-25. Conclusions: “These results suggest that the hypocholesterolemic effect of CP involves enhancement of cholesterol catabolism through up-regulation of hepatic CYP7A1 expression and that CIF contributes to the hypocholesterolemic effect.”

A hot water extract of Chlorella pyrenoidosa reduces body weight and serum lipids in ovariectomized rats. Hidaka S1, Okamoto Y, Arita M. Phytother Res. 2004 Feb;18(2):164-8. Conclusions: “These results suggest that a dietary supplement of CGF may be useful to control the body weight and improve lipid metabolism of menopausal women.”

Cognition

Effect of docosahexaenoic acid-fortified Chlorella vulgaris strain CK22 on the radial maze performance in aged mice. Sugimoto Y1, Taga C, Nishiga M, Fujiwara M, Konishi F, Tanaka K, Kamei C. Biol Pharm Bull. 2002 Aug;25(8):1090-2. Conclusions: “A significant increase in the DHA content in the brain was also observed. These results suggest that the intake of DHA-fortified Chlorella oil fraction effectively enhances working memory in maze performance.”

Colitis

A review of recent clinical trials of the nutritional supplement Chlorella pyrenoidosa in the treatment of fibromyalgia, hypertension, and ulcerative colitis. Merchant RE1, Andre CA. Altern Ther Health Med. 2001 May-Jun;7(3):79-91. Conclusions: “The potential of chlorella to relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and normalize body functions in patients with fibromyalgia, hypertension, or ulcerative colitis suggests that larger, more comprehensive clinical trials of chlorella are warranted.”

Dementia

Preventive effects of Chlorella on cognitive decline in age-dependent dementia model mice. Nakashima Y1, Ohsawa I, Konishi F, Hasegawa T, Kumamoto S, Suzuki Y, Ohta S. Neurosci Lett. 2009 Oct 30;464(3):193-8. Conclusions: “The diet with Chlorella tended to reduce oxidative stress and significantly prevented the decline of cognitive ability, as shown by both methods. Moreover, consumption of Chlorella decreased the number of activated astrocytes in the DAL101 brain. These findings suggest that the prolonged consumption of Chlorella has the potential to prevent the progression of cognitive impairment.”

Detoxification

Protective effects of Chlorella vulgaris on liver toxicity in cadmium-administered rats. Shim JY1, Shin HS, Han JG, Park HS, Lim BL, Chung KW, Om AS. J Med Food. 2008 Sep;11(3):479-85. Conclusions: “this study suggests that C. vulgaris has a protective effect against Cd-induced liver damage by reducing Cd accumulation and stimulating the expression of MT II in liver.”

Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) supplementation decreases dioxin and increases immunoglobulin a concentrations in breast milk. Nakano S1, Takekoshi H, Nakano M. J Med Food. 2007 Mar;10(1):134. Conclusions: The present results suggest that Chlorella supplementation not only reduces dioxin levels in breast milk, but may also have beneficial effects on nursing infants by increasing IgA levels in breast milk.”

Maternal-fetal distribution and transfer of dioxins in pregnant women in Japan, and attempts to reduce maternal transfer with Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) supplements. Nakano S1, Noguchi T, Takekoshi H, Suzuki G, Nakano M.Chemosphere. 2005 Dec;61(9):1244-55. Conclusions: “Total TEQ in breast milk were approximately 30% lower in the Chlorella group than in controls (P=0.0113). This finding suggests that maternal transfer of dioxins can be reduced using dietary measures such as Chlorella supplements.

Chlorophyll derived from Chlorella inhibits dioxin absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and accelerates dioxin excretion in rats. Morita K1, Ogata M, Hasegawa T. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Mar;109(3):289-94. Conclusions: “The amount of PCDD and PCDF congeners in rats was remarkably decreased along with the increasing dietary chlorophyll. These findings suggest that chlorophyll is effective for preventing dioxin absorption via foods.”

Chlorella accelerates dioxin excretion in rats. Morita K1, Matsueda T, Iida T, Hasegawa T. J Nutr. 1999 Sep;129(9):1731-6. Conclusions: “These findings suggest that the administration of Chlorella may be useful in preventing gastrointestinal absorption and for promoting the excretion of dioxin already absorbed into tissues. Moreover, these findings suggest that Chlorella might be useful in the treatment of humans exposed to dioxin.”

Chlorella suppresses methylmercury transfer to the fetus in pregnant mice. Uchikawa T, Maruyama I, Kumamoto S, Ando Y, Yasutake A. J, Toxicol Sci. 2011 Oct;36(5):675-80. Conclusions: “The results obtained here revealed that continuous chlorella powder (CP) intake supressed methylmercury (MeHg) transfer to the fetus in addition to effective suppressing MeHg accumulation in brains of the mothers.”

Diabetes

Algae consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2005. Lee HJ1, Kim HC, Vitek L, Nam CM. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2010;56(1):13-8. Conclusions: “Our results suggest that dietary algae consumption may decrease the risk of diabetes mellitus in Korean men. A well-designed prospective study is needed to confirm this association.”

Effect of Chlorella vulgaris on glucose metabolism in Wistar rats fed high fat diet. Lee HS1, Kim MK. J Med Food. 2009 Oct;12(5):1029-37. Conclusions: “10% Chlorella intake was more effective for blood glucose regulation than 5% Chlorella intake in rats fed a high fat diet. Chlorella intake may prevent insulin resistance in Wistar rats fed a high fat diet.”

Potential hypoglycemic effects of Chlorella in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Jong-Yuh C1, Mei-Fen S. Life Sci. 2005 Jul 15;77(9):980-90. Conclusions: The current results indicate that Chlorella enhances the hypoglycemic effects of exogenous insulin at a dose which does not produce hypoglycemia in STZ mice, suggesting that insulin sensitivity is increased in these mice.

Antioxidant and anti-cataract effects of Chlorella on rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Shibata S1, Natori Y, Nishihara T, Tomisaka K, Matsumoto K, Sansawa H, Nguyen VC. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2003 Oct;49(5):334-9. Conclusions: These results indicate that Chlorella has antioxidant activity and may be beneficial for the prevention of diabetic complications such as cataracts.

Nutrigenomic studies of effects of Chlorella on subjects with high-risk factors for lifestyle-related disease. Mizoguchi T, Takehara I, Masuzawa T, Saito T, Naoki Y. J Med Food. 2008 Sep;11(3):395-404. Conclusions: “Chlorella intake resulted in noticeable reductions in body fat percentage, serum total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose levels“

Fibromyalgia

A review of recent clinical trials of the nutritional supplement Chlorella pyrenoidosa in the treatment of fibromyalgia, hypertension, and ulcerative colitis. Merchant RE, Andre CA. Altern Ther Health Med. 2001 May-Jun;7(3):79-91. Conclusions: “The potential of chlorella to relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and normalize body functions in patients with fibromyalgia, hypertension, or ulcerative colitis suggests that larger, more comprehensive clinical trials of chlorella are warranted.”

Nutritional supplementation with Chlorella pyrenoidosa for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome: a pilot study. Merchant RE, Andre CA. Wise CM. Phytother Res. 2000 May;14(3):167-73. Conclusions: “The results of this pilot study suggest that dietary Chlorella supplementation may help relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia in some patients and that a larger, more comprehensive double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in these patients is warranted.”

Hypertension

Anti-hypertensive effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-rich Chlorella on high-normal blood pressure and borderline hypertension in placebo-controlled double blind study. Morio Shimada, Takashi Hasegawa, Chiaki Nishimura, Hiroko Kan, Toshihiro Kanno, Toshio Nakamura, Tsuneo Matsubayashi. Clin Exp Hypertens 2009 Jun;31(4):342-54. Conclusions: “These results suggest that GABA-rich Chlorella significantly decreased high-normal blood pressure and borderline hypertension, and is a beneficial dietary supplement for prevention of the development of hypertension.

Nutritional supplementation with Chlorella pyrenoidosa for mild to moderate hypertension. Merchant RE, Andre CA, Sica DA. J Med Food. 2002 Fall;5(3):141-52. Conclusions: “The results indicate that, for some subjects with mild to moderate hypertension, a daily dietary supplement of Chlorella reduced or kept stable their sitting diastolic BP (SiDBP).”

A review of recent clinical trials of the nutritional supplement Chlorella pyrenoidosa in the treatment of fibromyalgia, hypertension, and ulcerative colitis. Merchant RE, Andre CA. Altern Ther Health Med. 2001 May-Jun;7(3):79-91. Conclusions: “The potential of chlorella to relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and normalize body functions in patients with fibromyalgia, hypertension, or ulcerative colitis suggests that larger, more comprehensive clinical trials of chlorella are warranted.”

Identification of antihypertensive peptides from peptic digest of two microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis. Suetsuna K, Chen JR. Mar Biotechnol (NY). 2001 Jul;3(4):305-9. Conclusions: “The peptidic fractions that inhibited angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) were separated from the peptic digests of 2 microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis, by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Oral administration of peptidic fractions into spontaneously hypertensive rats at 200 mg/kg of body weight resulted in marked antihypertensive effects.”

Hepatitis C

Efficacy and safety of Chlorella supplementation in adults with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Azocar J1, Diaz A. World J Gastroenterol. 2013 Feb 21;19(7):1085-90. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i7.1085. Conclusions: “Chlorella supplementation was well tolerated in patients with chronic HCV and associated with a significant decrease in ALT liver enzyme levels…We propose that the improvements in liver function tests in our population with chronic HCV infection is most likely due to the beneficial immunostimulatory effect of Chlorella supplementation.

Immune system

Immunostimulatory bioactivity of algal polysaccharides from Chlorella pyrenoidosa activates macrophages via Toll-like receptor 4. Hsu HY1, Jeyashoke N, Yeh CH, Song YJ, Hua KF, Chao LK. J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jan 27;58(2):927-36. Conclusions: “Our current results provide support for the possible use of Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CWSP) as a modulation agent of immune responses in humans and certain animal species…This study is the first to report the molecular mechanism of immune-modulated signal transduction in vitro from the polysaccharides of Chlorella pyrenoidosa.”

Oral administration of hot water extracts of Chlorella vulgaris increases physical stamina in mice. An HJ, Choi HM, Park HS, Han JG, Lee EH, Park YS, Um JY, Hong SH, Kim HM. Ann Nutr Metab. 2006;50(4):380-6. Conclusions: The results predict a potential benefit of CVE for enhancing immune function and improving physical stamina.

Effects of Chlorella vulgaris on bone marrow progenitor cells of mice infected with Listeria monocytogenes. Dantas DC, Queiroz ML. Int J Immunopharmacol. 1999 Aug;21(8):499-508. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that Chlorella vulgaris extract (CVE) produces a significant increase in the resistance of the animals infected with L. monocytogenes, and that this protection is due, at least in part, to increased CFU-GM in the bone marrow of infected animals.”

The effects of Chlorella vulgaris in the protection of mice infected with Listeria monocytogenes. Role of natural killer cells. Dantas DC1, Kaneno R, Queiroz ML. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 1999 Aug;21(3):609-19. Conclusions: “Chlorella vulgaris (CV) treatment (50 and 500mg/Kg) of mice infected with a dose of 3 x 10(5) bacteria/animal, which was lethal for all the non-treated controls, produced a dose-response protection which led to a 20% and 55% survival, respectively (p < 0.0001).”

Inflammation

Effects of chlorella on activities of protein tyrosine phosphatases, matrix metalloproteinases, caspases, cytokine release, B and T cell proliferations, and phorbol ester receptor binding. Cheng FC, Lin A, Feng JJ, Mizoguchi T, Takekoshi H, Kubota H, Kato Y, Naoki Y. J Med Food. 2004 Summer;7(2):146-52. Conclusions: “These results reveal potential pharmacological activities that, if confirmed by in vivo studies, might be exploited for the prevention or treatment of several serious pathologies, including inflammatory disease and cancer.”

Inhibition of mast cells by algae. Price JA 3rd, Sanny C, Shevlin D. J Med Food. 2002 Winter;5(4):205-10. Conclusions: “We saw wide phylogenetic dispersion of mast cell inhibition activity, suggesting that this anti-inflammatory property is common in algae. This effect was apparently due to multiple activities within the algal extracts.”

Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and free radical scavenging activities of the marine microalgae Chlorella stigmatophora and Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Guzmán S, Gato A, Calleja JM. Phytother Res. 2001 May;15(3):224-30. Conclusions: hydrosoluble components of both species show significant anti-inflammatory, analgesic and free radical scavenging activity. These activities were not detected in the liposoluble fractions.”

Jaundice

Administration of Chlorella sp. microalgae reduces endotoxemia, intestinal oxidative stress and bacterial translocation in experimental biliary obstruction. Bedirli A1, Kerem M, Ofluoglu E, Salman B, Katircioglu H, Bedirli N, Yilmazer D, Alper M, Pasaoglu H. Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec;28(6):674-8. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2009.06.001. Conclusions: Chlorella sp. microalgae supplemented enteral diet has significant protective effects on intestinal mucosa barrier in obstructive jaundice, and reduces intestinal translocation of bacteria and endotoxin.

Pregnancy

Chlorella pyrenoidosa supplementation reduces the risk of anemia, proteinuria and edema in pregnant women Nakano S, Takekoshi H, Nakano M. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2010 Mar;65(1):25-30. Conclusions: These results suggest that Chlorella supplementation significantly reduces the risk of pregnancy associated anemia, proteinuria and edema. Chlorella supplement may be useful as a resource of natural folate, vitamin B-12 and iron for pregnant women.

Effect of maternal Chlorella supplementation on carotenoid concentration in breast milk at early lactation. Nagayama J, Noda K, Uchikawa T, Maruyama I, Shimomura H, Miyahara M. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2014 Aug;65(5):573-6 Conclusions: Breast milk carotenoids provide neonates with a source of vitamin A and potentially, oxidative stress protection and other health benefits. Chlorella, which has high levels of carotenoids such as lutein, zeaxanthin and β-carotene, is an effective dietary source of carotenoids for humans. In this study, the effect of maternal supplementation with Chlorella on carotenoid levels in breast milk at early lactation was investigated. Ten healthy, pregnant women received 6 g of Chlorella daily from gestational week 16-20 until the day of delivery (Chlorella group); ten others did not (control group). Among the carotenoids detected in breast milk, lutein, zeaxanthin and β-carotene concentrations in the Chlorella group were 2.6-fold (p = 0.001), 2.7-fold (p = 0.001) and 1.7-fold (p = 0.049) higher, respectively, than those in the control group. Our study shows that Chlorella intake during pregnancy is effective in improving the carotenoid status of breast milk at early lactation.

Stroke

Effect of chlorella and its fractions on blood pressure, cerebral stroke lesions, and life-span in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. Sansawa H1, Takahashi M, Tsuchikura S, Endo H. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2006 Dec;52(6):457-66. Conclusions: These experimental results suggest that the beneficial effect of Chlorella on stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) is caused by the synergistic action of several ingredients of Chlorella, which play a role in sustention of a vascular function of rats.”

Ulcers

Oral administration of a unicellular green algae, Chlorella vulgaris, prevents stress-induced ulcer. Tanaka K, Yamada A, Noda K, Shoyama Y, Kubo C, Nomoto K. Planta Med. 1997 Oct;63(5):465-6. Conclusions: Oral administration of dry powder of Chlorella vulgaris (CVP) showed clear prophylactic effects in water-immersion restraint stress-induced and in cysteamine-induced peptic ulcer models, but not in Shay’s rat model. Drugs that enhance the protective factors of ulcer formation are effective in the first two models. CVP may prevent ulcer formation mainly through the immune-brain-gut axis and protection of gastric mucosa by its own characteristics.”

Women’s Health

Effect of chlorella supplementation on systematic symptoms and serum levels of prostaglandins, inflammatory and oxidative markers in women with primary dysmenorrhea.. Haidari F, Homayouni F, Helli B, Haghighizadeh MH, Farahmandpour F. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2018 Oct;229:185-189. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2018.08.578. Epub 2018 Aug 27. Conclusions: This study showed that chlorella supplementation could decrease the severity of pain and systemic symptoms and improve serum levels of prostaglandins, inflammatory and oxidative markers in women with primary dysmenorrhea.