Although this isn't a food per se, it's great to add to your morning smoothie. Microalgae refers to superfood ocean-based plants such as spirulina, chlorella, and blue-green algae. On the other hand, they cannot substitute a generally healthy and balanced diet.
Some seaweeds hailed as superfoods contain natural toxins.
Chlorella is a form of green algae, and spirulina is a type of blue-green algae. Chlorella is a rich source of chlorophyll, and spirulina provides a variety of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Some study showed, Blue-green algae and spirulina are more harmful than beneficial to human health as they contain neurotoxins, hepatotoxins (compounds toxic to the liver) as well as BMAA (beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine). Some people who take sun chlorella may suffer from gastrointestinal problems including gas, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and/or constipation. Additional side effects may include fatigue, irritability and increased sensitivity to sun exposure. The National Institutes of Health warns that if you consume chlorella or spirulina harvested from a polluted source, you may consume toxic heavy metals. Spirulina may also contain microsystins or potentially deadly bacteria that can affect liver and central nervous system function, according to the State of Washington Department of Ecology.
It’s important to know the source of used alga diet. Most toxic algae became toxic when they reach bloom condition in an aquatic system.
Adverse reactions and risk of Chlorella, Spirulina
• Slight Fever -- The high protein content in spirulina increases metabolism, which may elevate body temperature.
• Dark Green Waste Matter -- Spirulina can remove accumulated waste product in your colon, which may cause darker stool. Also, spirulina is high in chlorophyll. This will also turn waste matter green.
• Excessive Passing of Gas -- This may indicate that your digestive system is not functioning properly or you have an extreme build-up of gas.
• Feelings of Excitement -- Your body is converting protein into heat energy, which may cause temporary feelings of restlessness.
• Breakouts and Itchy Skin -- This is caused by colon cleansing process and is only temporary.
• Sleepiness -- This is caused by the detoxification process and may indicate your body is exhausted and needs better rest.
There is no major report about the side effect and risks of these microalgae if you grow them in clean water. and yes in open culture of Spirulina there is great risk of contamination by Microsystin. But there all are manageable issues. We can not deny the nutritional value of these algae for these small issues.
While high quality microalgae is free of adverse side effects, it does contain iodine, so people who are allergic or sensitive to iodine should avoid taking the supplement. For this same reason, people with hyperparathyroidism should also avoid the supplement.
Those who are highly allergic or extremely sensitive to seafood or seaweed may also want to avoid taking microalgae, and people who are currently running a high fever should wait for the fever to subside before taking microalgae.
Insulin-dependent diabetics or those with type 2 diabetes should consult their physicians prior to taking microalgae. This is also recommended for anyone who may currently have, or who may be predisposed to gout.
Astaxanthin: A microalgea side effects : people who suffer from low blood pressure may have problems with this one. Similarly, a reduced level of calcium is another issue of which supplementof this microalgea-takers should be aware, especially women.One detail that needs to be dealt with is the whole astaxanthin testosterone relationship. In men, this microalgea supplement may prevent the body from using testosterone the way it would like. As a result of that decreased presence, male breast growth, a reduced sex drive, and even erectile dysfunction are possible astaxanthin side effects
Thank you for this interesting question. Do note however than microalgae are only very rarely "ocean-based plants" or "seaweeds" despite being aquatic. Spirulina for instance is naturally found in brackish alkaline waters such as natron lakes for instance, not in the sea.
I will not talk about risks linked to poor quality produce, which include, like for any other food: heavy metals, bacterial contaminants, specific toxins from competing microalgae (microcystins), etc. I feel microalgae are as much or less susceptible to these contaminations than carnivorous fish and shellfish for heavy metals, meat and dairy for bacteria, external toxins for nuts and cereals.
Spirulina side-effects and risks:
(1) Empirically, a few consumers present adverse impact on bowel movements – probably due to the high chlorophyll content.
(2) Spirulina's extremely high vitamin K2 content makes it something which must be avoided by patients under anticoagulant medication, just like many greens such as broccoli, as it could interfere which the medication's efficacy and pose health risks for the patient
(3) Spirulina's extremely high iron content makes it something consumers with iron overload must avoid (hereditary haemochromatosis for instance).
Most blue-green algae but not spirulina have a very high nucleic acid content and purines, which could or could not have an impact on the risk of gout, just as meat and seafood.
Some commonly consumed microalgae such as Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and nostoc are not GRAS as far as I know. Serious research should be carried out on novel microalgae. Nostoc for instance has been consumed for centuries in China as a delicacy but recent research proved it contains high levels of a toxic amino acid called BMAA.
In the same vein, a 2011 paper called "Cyanobacteria: an unrecognized ubiquitous sensitizing allergen?" points out that "cyanobacterial allergenicity resides in nontoxin-containing components of [Aphanizomenon flos-aquae]", making it allergic to 12% of patients. This product, also know as AFA or Klamath blue-green alga, is nevertheless sold as a dietary supplement in the US.
Regarding microcystins, recent literature is very clear that BMAA and microcystins are *not* a problem affecting spirulina found on the market. Norms will probably be fixed in the near future on that matter but GRAS status was only validated after years of independent research and shared data by industry leaders on the subject.
The general idea is the following: superfoods must go through serious vetting processes. Great nutritional profiles aren't enough. The validation of GRAS status of spirulina and chlorella show us that there are probably a lot of promising foods out there waiting to be discovered but let us not adopt just anything before checking the basics.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Biota
- Eukaryota
- Fungi