Peptidoglycan complex of spirulina(Hwealth Pharmaceutical)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a respiratory condition strongly related to oxidative stress. Recent studies have explored the potential benefits of nutritional supplementation in managing several conditions.

To investigate the effects of zinc-enriched Spirulina Supplementation (ZSS) on patients with COPD.

This study is a monocentric randomized controlled clinical trial. COPD-eligible adult male patients under 65 years of age, receiving regular medical treatment, will be included. They will continue their conventional medical treatment following the GOLD 2023 guidelines for COPD. Ninety subjects will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group (G1) or the control group (G2) in a 1:1 ratio. G1 will receive ZSS (1 g/day) for 2 months, while G2 will continue only basic medical treatment. The study will assess oxidant-antioxidant balance, lung function through pulmonary function tests, functional capacity via the 6-minute walking test, lipid profile, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life. All outcomes will be measured at baseline and two months later after supplementation completion. After the 8-week treatment, patients will be followed up for an additional 4 weeks. Ethics approval was obtained from the faculty of medicine of Sousse ethics committee.

It is expected that ZSS can positively impact the oxidant/antioxidant balance in patients with COPD after two months of supplementation. The authors anticipate that ZSS may improve various physiological parameters, such as lung function, exercise capacity, endothelial function, and metabolic profile, leading to an overall improvement in the quality of life of patients with COPD.

Cyclophosphamide is an antitumor agent that causes disorders in fertility. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of Spirulina platensis against Cyclophosphamide-induced testicular toxicity. 42 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups. Experimental groups included three groups. The first experimental group received Cyclophosphamide at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight (BW) orally. The second and third experimental groups received 5 mg/kg BW Cyclophosphamide and 500 and 1,000 mg/kg BW S. platensis orally, respectively. The control groups included a control group, and two S. platensis control groups. Following 28 days, two flow cytometry techniques were used to determine sperm apoptosis and testicular protein expression of tumor protein (p53) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2). p53 is a tumor suppressor protein that causes the cell to enter the apoptosis cycle after DNA damage and Bcl-2 is an anti-apoptotic protein that acts through the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. FITC-Annexin V assay was used for sperm apoptosis evaluation. For protein expression assay, primary and secondary antibodies staining were performed. The Cyclophosphamide group showed a significant increase in sperm apoptosis compared to the control group. Cyclophosphamide significantly increased p53 and decreased Bcl-2 expression compared to the control group. S. platensis co-treated groups exhibited a significant decrease in sperm apoptosis compared to the Cyclophosphamide group. Moreover, S. platensis co-treated groups displayed a significant decreasing in p53 and increasing in Bcl-2 expression compared to the Cyclophosphamide group. The results of this study indicated that S. platensis protected rats against Cyclophosphamide-induced reproductive toxicity. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Cyclophosphamide is the chemotherapy agent used to treat different cancers. Cyclophosphamide has side effects on the male reproductive system. Spirulina plantesis has a protective effect because of its antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties. Co-administration of Spirulina plantesis with Cyclophosphamide reduces sperm apoptosis also decreases P53 protein expression and increases Bcl-2 protein expression. This study validated the anti-apoptotic potential of Spirulina plantesis against Cyclophosphamide-induced male reproductive toxicity.