Chlorella vulgaris and atopic dermatitis in mice
What it found
In mice with atopic dermatitis-like skin symptoms, a chlorella-enriched diet reduced skin damage and immune markers.
The study was in animals, not people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Skin symptoms
Mice given 3% or 5% chlorella had lower dermatitis scores than mice on the standard diet. Their skin was also less thick.
Skin hydration
Water loss through the skin was lower in the chlorella-fed mice than in the mice with induced dermatitis. Skin hydration was higher in the chlorella groups.
Immune cells in skin
Chlorella supplementation reduced the number of eosinophils and mast cells in the skin compared to the dermatitis group.
Blood chemokines
Blood levels of TARC and MDC were lower in the chlorella-fed mice than in the dermatitis group.
Cytokine mRNA
In skin tissue, mRNA levels of IL-4 and IFN-γ were lower in the chlorella groups than in the dermatitis group.
What the authors conclude
“Taken together, these results suggest that CV extract may have potential as a nutraceutical ingredient for the prevention of AD.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that oral administration of chlorella vulgaris improves atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions by modulating local and systemic immune responses.
- They call for further experiments to understand the molecular mechanisms and for clinical studies before use by the food industry and patients.
- They suggest that chlorella could become a functional food or supplement for atopic dermatitis and other allergic disorders with further evidence.
How it was done
Atopic dermatitis is a common chronic itchy skin disease with limited treatment options, and chlorella has been reported to affect allergy-related factors when eaten. The authors wanted to see if a chlorella-enriched diet could suppress atopic dermatitis-like symptoms.
Three-week-old NC/Nga male mice were divided into five groups of eight and fed a standard diet, a 3% or 5% chlorella diet, or a tacrolimus-treated diet for six weeks. From the third week, atopic dermatitis-like symptoms were induced by applying Dermatophagoides farinae extract to the skin twice weekly for three weeks.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal studies. They can't show what happens in people.
- The study did not test chlorella in people with atopic dermatitis.
- It is not known whether the same effects would occur in humans.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Seoul National University, Korea; Yonsei University, Korea
The paper
- Title
- Chlorella vulgaris Attenuates Dermatophagoides Farinae-Induced Atopic Dermatitis-Like Symptoms in NC/Nga Mice
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Kang H, Lee CH, Kim JR, et al (2015). Chlorella vulgaris Attenuates Dermatophagoides Farinae-Induced Atopic Dermatitis-Like Symptoms in NC/Nga Mice. International journal of molecular sciences. doi:10.3390/ijms160921021Free full textPubMed 26404252DOI
Summary written 29 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error