Evaluating Anticancer and Immunomodulatory Effects of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis and Gamma-Tocotrienol Supplementation in a Syngeneic Mouse Model of Breast Cancer

Chemical Composition, Bioactivities, and Applications of Spirulina (Limnospira platensis) in Food, Feed, and Medicine

Spirulina (Limnospira platensis) is a microalga recognised for its rich nutritional composition and diverse bioactive compounds, making it a valuable functional food, feed, and therapeutic agent. This review examines spirulina's chemical composition, including its high levels of protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, such as the phycocyanin pigment, polysaccharides, and carotenoids, in food, feed, and medicine. These compounds exhibit various biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antiviral, anticancer, antidiabetic and lipid-lowering effects. Spirulina's potential to mitigate oxidative stress, enhance immune function, and inhibit tumour growth positions it as a promising candidate for preventing chronic diseases. Additionally, spirulina is gaining interest in the animal feed sector as a promotor of growth performance, improving immune responses and increasing resistance to diseases in livestock, poultry, and aquaculture. Despite its well-documented health benefits, future research is needed to optimize production/cultivation methods, improve its bioavailability, and validate its efficacy (dose-effect relationship) and safety through clinical trials and large-scale human trials. This review underscores the potential of spirulina to address global health and nutrition challenges, supporting its continued application in food, feed, and medicine.

Spirulina-An Invaluable Source of Macro- and Micronutrients with Broad Biological Activity and Application Potential

With population growth expected in the near future and the planet's limited resources, alternative food sources are already being looked for. In this context, spirulina is called the food of the future due to its rich nutritional composition. This blue-green alga is primarily a valuable source of protein (55-70%) containing all essential amino acids. In its composition, it also contains unsaturated fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and pigments, including the valuable protein-pigment complex-phycocyanin. Due to its high content of complete protein and minerals such as iron and calcium, it is an excellent addition to diets, especially those of vegans and vegetarians. Despite several limitations to the use of spirulina, including its distinctive marine flavour, low consumer awareness, or relatively high price, scientists are attempting to enrich many food products with the microalga. This is supported not only by the improved nutritional composition of the fortified product but also by spirulina's impact on sustainable food production. Therefore, this review aims to create consumer attention by presenting spirulina as a valuable and sustainable food source with health-promoting potential and great future significance.

Delineating the Immunotherapeutic Potential of Vitamin E and Its Analogues in Cancer: A Comprehensive Narrative Review

Cancer is a disease resulting from uncontrolled cell division, which significantly contributes to human mortality rates. An alternative approach to cancer treatment, such as cancer immunotherapy, is needed as the existing chemotherapy and radiotherapy approaches target the cancer cells and healthy dividing cells. Vitamin E is a plant-derived lipid-soluble antioxidant with numerous health-promoting benefits, including anticancer and immunomodulatory properties. Vitamin E comprises eight natural isoforms: tocopherols (α, β, δ, and γ) and tocotrienols (α, β, δ, and γ). While initial research focused on the anticancer properties of α-tocopherol, there is growing interest in other natural forms and modified synthetic analogues of vitamin E due to their unique properties and enhanced anticancer effects. Hence, this review is aimed at outlining the effect of vitamin E and its analogues at various steps of the cancer-immunity cycle that can be used to stimulate anticancer immune responses.

Comprehensive Review of the Latest Investigations of the Health-Enhancing Effects of Selected Properties of Arthrospira and Spirulina Microalgae on Skin

Arthospira platensis and Spirulina platensis microalgae are a rich source of pro-health metabolites (% d.m.): proteins (50.0-71.3/46.0-63.0), carbohydrates (16.0-20.0/12.0-17.0), fats (0.9-14.2/6.4-14.3), polyphenolic compounds and phenols (7.3-33.2/7.8-44.5 and 4.2/0.3 mg GAE/g), and flavonoids (1.9/0.2 QUE/g) used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations. This review summarises the research on the chemical profile, therapeutic effects in dermatological problems, application of Arthrospira and Spirulina microalgae, and contraindications to their use. The pro-health properties of these microalgae were analysed based on the relevant literature from 2019 to 2024. The antiviral mechanism of microalgal activity involves the inhibition of viral replication and enhancement of immunity. The anti-acne activity is attributed to alkaloids, alkanes, phenols, alkenes, phycocyanins, phthalates, tannins, carboxylic and phthalic acids, saponins, and steroids. The antibacterial activity generally depends on the components and structure of the bacterial cell wall. Their healing effect results from the inhibition of inflammatory and apoptotic processes, reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, stimulation of angiogenesis, and proliferation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The photoprotective action is regulated by amino acids, phlorotannins, carotenoids, mycosporins, and polyphenols inhibiting the production of tyrosinase, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and free oxygen radicals in fibroblasts and the stimulation of collagen production. Microalgae are promising molecular ingredients in innovative formulations of parapharmaceuticals and cosmetics used in the prophylaxis and therapy of dermatological problems. This review shows the application of spirulina-based commercial skin-care products as well as the safety and contraindications of spirulina use. Furthermore, the main directions for future studies of the pro-health suitability of microalgae exerting multidirectional effects on human skin are presented.

Role of natural products in tumor therapy from basic research and clinical perspectives

Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is an important barrier to lengthening life expectancy in every country. Natural products are receiving increased attention from researchers globally and increasing numbers of natural products are approved for clinical studies involving cancer in recent years. To gain more insight into natural products that have undergone clinical trials for cancer treatment, a comprehensive search was conducted. The https://clinicaltrials.gov website was searched for relevant clinical trials and natural product information up to December 2022. The search terms included different types of cancers, such as colorectal, lung, breast, gynecologic, kidney, bladder, melanoma, pancreatic, hepatocellular, gastric and haematologic. Then, PubMed and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles up to February 2024. Hence, we listed existing clinical trials about natural products used in the treatment of cancers and discussed the preclinical and clinical studies of some promising natural products and their targets, indications, and underlying mechanisms of action. Our intent was to provide basic information to readers who are interested or majoring in natural products and obtain a deeper understanding of the progress and actions of natural product mechanisms of action.

Reconciling the Gap between Medications and their Potential Leads: The Role of Marine Metabolites in the Discovery of New Anticancer Drugs: A Comprehensive Review

One-third of people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, making it the second leading cause of death globally each year after cardiovascular disease. The complex anticancer molecular mechanisms have been understood clearly with the advent of improved genomic, proteomic, and bioinformatics. Our understanding of the complex interplay between numerous genes and regulatory genetic components within cells explaining how this might lead to malignant phenotypes has greatly expanded. It was discovered that epigenetic resistance and a lack of multitargeting drugs were highlighted as major barriers to cancer treatment, spurring the search for innovative anticancer treatments. It was discovered that epigenetic resistance and a lack of multitargeting drugs were highlighted as major barriers to cancer treatment, spurring the search for innovative anticancer treatments. Many popular anticancer drugs, including irinotecan, vincristine, etoposide, and paclitaxel, have botanical origins. Actinomycin D and mitomycin C come from bacteria, while bleomycin and curacin come from marine creatures. However, there is a lack of research evaluating the potential of algae-based anticancer treatments, especially in terms of their molecular mechanisms. Despite increasing interest in the former, and the promise of the compounds to treat tumours that have been resistant to existing treatment, pharmaceutical development of these compounds has lagged. Thus, the current review focuses on the key algal sources that have been exploited as anticancer therapeutic leads, including their biological origins, phytochemistry, and the challenges involved in converting such leads into effective anticancer drugs.

Gallic acid ameliorates atherosclerosis and vascular senescence and remodels the microbiome in a sex-dependent manner in ApoE-/- mice

Polyphenols found in fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the USA. Our lab demonstrated that blackberry supplementation reduces atherosclerosis in male, but not in female mice. The current study investigates whether gallic acid (GA), a polyphenol abundant in blackberry, decreases plaque and whether its effect is also sex-dependent. In vitro work using vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) demonstrated that GA reduced cell signaling associated with proliferation, migration, and senescence. ApoE^-/- male and female mice were treated with and without 0.2% GA in drinking water and fed a chow diet (2 weeks), then switched to high-fat diet (HFD) (5 weeks) with the same GA regimen. Similar to the blackberry study, GA reduced atherosclerosis only in males. This GA-induced plaque reduction was independent of plasma cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), LDL, or HDL but corresponded with indices of lower inflammation. Males showed reduced spleen weight and serum IL3 and IL12 levels, and gut health improvement. In females, GA increased anti-atherogenic (HDL and IL10) molecules, while upregulating several pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). A major sex-dependent effect of GA was the almost complete disappearance of Eubacterium fissicatena and Turicibacter induced by HFD in males, a finding not seen in females. This study provides novel insights into how GA can improve gut microbiota alterations associated with CVD and suggests that males suffering from atherosclerosis may benefit from GA supplementation, as this polyphenol partially restored microbiome dysbiosis.

γ-Tocotrienol inhibits T helper 17 cell differentiation via the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway

γ-Tocotrienol (GT3), a member of the vitamin E family, is well known for its medicinal value in clinical treatments. However, the role of GT3 in T helper 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cell (Treg) differentiation and function is not fully understood. Here, we demonstrated that GT3 suppressed Th17 differentiation in vitro by inhibiting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation in the interleukin 6 (IL-6)/Janus kinase (JAK)/STAT3 signaling pathway. GT3 also inhibited HIF1A expression in Th17 metabolism. Additionally, we showed that GT3 treatment inhibited disease aggravation in an imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like mouse model by reducing the percentage of Th17 cells in the spleen in vivo. The findings of this study demonstrated the effects of GT3 on Th17 cells through the STAT3 signaling pathway.

Wide Range Applications of Spirulina: From Earth to Space Missions

Spirulina is the most studied cyanobacterium species for both pharmacological applications and the food industry. The aim of the present review is to summarize the potential benefits of the use of Spirulina for improving healthcare both in space and on Earth. Regarding the first field of application, Spirulina could represent a new technology for the sustainment of long-duration manned missions to planets beyond the Lower Earth Orbit (e.g., Mars); furthermore, it could help astronauts stay healthy while exposed to a variety of stress factors that can have negative consequences even after years. As far as the second field of application, Spirulina could have an active role in various aspects of medicine, such as metabolism, oncology, ophthalmology, central and peripheral nervous systems, and nephrology. The recent findings of the capacity of Spirulina to improve stem cells mobility and to increase immune response have opened new intriguing scenarios in oncological and infectious diseases, respectively.