{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"spirulina","kind":"supplement","name":"spirulina","aliases":["Arthrospira platensis","blue-green algae"],"brands_sg":["California Gold Nutrition","NOW Foods","Nutrex Hawaii","Swanson Vitamins","Micro Ingredients"],"class":"algae","tags":["energy","immune"],"use_for":"trial data covers weight, bmi and crp — not energy","use_after":"daily","use_duration":"pooled trials ran 6–12 weeks beside exercise","take_with":null,"pros":["17 pooled rcts: −1.07 kg body weight, −0.84% body fat","7 pooled trials: crp fell 0.55 mg/l versus control","changes were larger when exercise was added too"],"cons":["the crp trials were few and very inconsistent (i²=87%)","supplement-only arms moved less and less consistently","86.7% of shop-bought samples mis-declared content"],"dose_note":"the exercise trials pooled in 2026 used 1–6 g a day for 6–12 weeks; the 2025 crp meta-analysis found no linear or non-linear relationship between dose or duration and the result, so no studied amount stands out","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"g","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["product quality varies — a market survey found most element declarations wrong","chlorella is a different algae, often sold blended in the same bottle","not listed in hsa's annex a/b — hsa says that list is not exhaustive"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"lak2025","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12175388","label":"Effects of spirulina supplementation on body composition in adults: a GRADE-assessed and dose-response meta-analysis of RCTs (Lak et al., Nutr Metab 2025; 17 RCTs)","quote":"The pooled analysis of 17 RCTs indicated that Spirulina supplementation significantly reduced body weight (BW) (WMD: -1.07 kg; p = 0.004), body mass index (BMI) (WMD: -0.40; p = 0.025), body fat percentage (BFP) (WMD: -0.84%; p = 0.002)","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"jazinaki2025","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12052714","label":"Effects of Spirulina Supplementation on C-Reactive Protein (CRP): A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis (Shahraki Jazinaki et al., Food Sci Nutr 2025; 7 trials, n=283)","quote":"Spirulina supplementation significantly reduced serum CRP levels compared to the control group (WMD: -0.55 mg/L; 95% CI: -0.90 to -0.21; p = 0.002). However, heterogeneity among the studies was high (I 2 = 86.7%","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"yasul2026","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13026846","label":"Combined Role of Spirulina and Exercise-Based Interventions in Individuals with Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Yasul et al., J Clin Med 2026; 10 studies)","quote":"randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating spirulina (1-6 g/day) combined with structured exercise … Effect estimates were generally larger in combined exercise-spirulina subgroups … whereas supplementation-only comparisons demonstrated smaller and less consistent changes.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"masten2022","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC8954120","label":"Nutritional Quality and Safety of the Spirulina Dietary Supplements Sold on the Slovenian Market (Masten Rutar et al., Foods 2022)","quote":"a high proportion (86.7%) of inappropriate declarations regarding the elemental content was observed. Overall, the study conclusions underline the need for a stricter control system for Spirulina-based supplements.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_pr_notlisted","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev 001 (Oct 2025), Annex A/B — searched, no row for this ingredient","quote":"The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/spirulina","label":"iHerb Singapore — Spirulina category (default order, 1 - 48 of 62 results)","quote":"California Gold Nutrition, Organic Spirulina, 60 Tablets (500 mg per Tablet) … NOW Foods, Certified Organic Spirulina, 500 mg … Nutrex Hawaii, Pure Hawaiian Spirulina®, 500 mg … Swanson Vitamins, Spirulina, 500 mg … Micro Ingredients, Organic Spirulina Chlorella","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-29T16:16:31.341231+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}