Spirulina in food and functional food uses
What it found
Spirulina has been added to many foods and shows potential in human studies for helping with blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and appetite.
The authors say it could become an important food ingredient.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood pressure in people
In a randomised trial in people with high blood pressure, those taking 2 grams of Spirulina daily for three months had a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and in the stiffness index compared with placebo.
Blood sugar and insulin
A review of human studies found that taking Spirulina reduced fasting blood sugar and insulin levels in people with metabolic syndrome.
Weight and appetite
In people who were overweight or obese, taking Spirulina lowered body weight, waist size, body fat, and appetite scores compared with placebo. Another study found that Spirulina plus exercise led to more weight loss and longer time to fatigue.
Animal and lab studies
Animal and lab studies
In rats and mice, Spirulina or its pigments lowered blood pressure, improved blood sugar and cholesterol, reduced kidney damage, and protected against ulcers. Lab tests showed that certain peptides from Spirulina can inhibit enzymes linked to blood pressure and diabetes.
Other findings
Food products with Spirulina
Spirulina has been added to pasta, bread, biscuits, snacks, yoghurt, cheese, and meat substitutes. These foods often had more protein, polyphenols, or antioxidants, and were generally well accepted by consumers.
What the authors conclude
“Spirulina shows potential to become an importantfood in the future.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say Spirulina shows potential to become an important food in the future.
- They note that Spirulina is rich in proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and bioactive pigments that have health-promoting properties.
- They conclude that Spirulina-derived proteins are excellent sources of bioactive peptides with potential uses in functional foods as antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antiobesity, and antioxidant ingredients.
How it was done
The authors wanted to review current and potential uses of Spirulina in the food and functional food industries, and to discuss health benefits linked to eating Spirulina or its compounds.
They reviewed published studies on Spirulina in food products and human and animal studies on health effects. Human studies they summarised ranged from 20 to 169 people, used 1 to 19 grams per day, and lasted 2 to 24 weeks.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the health findings come from animal or lab studies, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The human studies were small and varied in dose and duration, so they cannot prove that Spirulina causes these effects.
- This paper is a review and does not present new experiments, so it cannot provide new evidence on safety or effectiveness.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Almeria, Spain
The paper
- Title
- Spirulina for the food and functional food industries
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Lafarga T, Fernández-Sevilla JM, González-López C, Acién-Fernández FG (2020). Spirulina for the food and functional food industries. Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.). doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109356Free full textPubMed 33233059DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error