Abstract
Nutritional clinical trials have reported algae such as spirulina and chlorella to have the capability to improve cardiovascular risk factors, anemia, immune function, and arterial stiffness. With positive results being reported in clinical trials, researchers are investigating the potential for algae as an ergogenic aid for athletes. Initial studies found spirulina and chlorella supplementation to increase peak oxygen uptake and time to exhaustion, with the mechanistic focus on the antioxidant capabilities of both algae. However, a number of oxidative stress biomarkers reported in these studies are now considered to lack robustness and have consequently provided equivocal results. Considering the nutrient complexity and density of these commonly found edible algae, there is a need for research to widen the scope of investigation. Most recently algae supplementation has demonstrated ergogenic potential during submaximal and repeated sprint cycling, yet a confirmed primary mechanism behind these improvements is still unclear. In this paper we discuss current algae supplementation studies and purported effects on performance, critically examine the antioxidant and ergogenic differing perspectives, and outline future directions.
Highlights
While much attention and scientific interest surrounding the potential for algae as a functional food has been gaining momentum in the past two decades, written reports of its consumption in human diets go as far back as 300 A.D. in China [1]
The consensus of the findings indicate that spirulina possesses antioxidant mechanistic potential during/after exercise, as demonstrated by an improvement in a variety of oxidative stress markers [MDA, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione (GSH)] [10–12]
In the Sport and Exercise Nutrition field, further clarification is required on the efficacy of these algae when the nutritional and trained status of participants are taken into consideration
Summary
While much attention and scientific interest surrounding the potential for algae as a functional food has been gaining momentum in the past two decades, written reports of its consumption in human diets go as far back as 300 A.D. in China [1]. Much attention on how antioxidants derived from algae supplementation may benefit exercise performance has stemmed from early in vitro reports demonstrating algae exerting high antioxidant enzyme and radical scavenging activity [19–21], possibly via the activation of the NRF2 signaling pathway [22], including the prevention of lipid peroxidation [19] These findings appear to be consistent in rodent studies whereby oxidative stress markers such as Malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and lipid peroxidation improve following spirulina or chlorella supplementation [23, 24]. The good bodily assimilation and high bioavailability of iron from spirulina, primarily due to phytates and oxalates being absent, has resulted in several positive hemopoietic trends being reported in clinical populations [5, 46] and in healthy sports men [14, 15, 47, 48] How this might influence exercise performance certainly deserves more attention but perhaps more importantly, the exact mechanism needs to be confirmed, when spirulina supplementation causes increases in Hb in healthy sports men without a known iron deficiency. Some authors have suggested that the possible nitrate concentration found in spirulina may stimulate the contraction of the spleen (a known dynamic reservoir of erythrocytes which can induce “spleen-related blood boosting”), speculation primarily due to their recent work which suggests 5 mmol nitrate supplementation can elevate circulatory Hb by up to 3% via splenic contraction [50]
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