Earthrise Nutritionals, maker of the vegetable-based supplement Spirulina, has announced research proving its product can reverse the degenerative effects of ageing on the brain.
A study on the 'micro-vegetable' was carried out by scientists from the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Tampa, Florida; the Center for Aging and Brain Repair, Department of Neurosurgery, University of South Florida; the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Health Science Center, and published in the recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
The authors applied standard electrophysiological techniques to compare neuronal function in young (4 month-old) and old (20 month-old) rats fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with apple or cucumber Spirulina (5mg daily for 14 days).
The researchers claim that young rats fed the control diet had a significantly higher neuronal activity than aged rats fed the control diet. When old rats were fed a diet supplemented with Spirulina, the activity of their neurons reverted to the higher level observed in young rats. Apple Spirulina showed an intermediate effect while the cucumber version had no effect at all, according to the team.
The reversal of neuronal degeneration was attributed to Spirulina's antioxidant effect, claimed to be 300 times more potent than that found in apples. Only 5mg of Spirulina was supplemented daily for a total of 70mg during the entire 14-day study period.
In a back-to-back study published in the same journal, the group also found that the antioxidant effect of spinach resulted in improved motor skills learning in rats. In this second study as well as a number of other studies by the group, the oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC) of fruits and vegetables correlated significantly with increase in learning motor skills in rats.
Earthrise claims that although these studies on learning behaviour in rats were done using other fruits and vegetables, it expects Spirulina to have the same effect due to its high ORAC value.
"These new studies add to the mounting evidence on the role of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables in reducing age-related declines in central nervous system function," said Dr. Amha Belay, scientific director of Earthrise Nutritionals. "The present study points to the potential application of Spirulina (a micro-vegetable) in the prevention or mitigation of neuro-degenerative effects of damage by oxygen radicals."
California-based Earthrise Nutritionals introduced Spirulina in 1979, and sells the product globally. The product is grown under controlled conditions following FDA good manufacturing practices (GMP), and under an ISO 9001 Quality Management System .