Trial reportJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition2018
An attempt to induce an immunomodulatory effect in rowers with spirulina extract.
Trial report in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the impact of Spirulina supplementation on the growth of children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Acute and Chronic Performance Enhancement in Rowing: A Network Meta-analytical Approach on the Effects of Nutrition and Training.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of spirulina in exercise and sport: A systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Microalgae-Derived Pigments: A 10-Year Bibliometric Review and Industry and Market Trend Analysis.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Pooled it
- Physiological effects of spirulina supplementation during lactate threshold exercise at simulated altitude (2,500 m): a randomized controlled trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Trial
- Effects on Spirulina Supplementation on Immune Cells' Parameters of Elite College Athletes.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Alternative Proteins on the Polish Plate: Consumer Acceptance, Current Challenges, and Future Perspectives.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Microalgae and exercise: from molecular mechanisms and brain health to clinical perspectives in the context of 3P medicine.The EPMA journal · 2025Review
- Phycochemistry and pharmacological significance of filamentous cyanobacterium Spirulina sp.Bioresources and bioprocessing · 2025Review
- Impact ofScientifica · 2025Review
- Fueling immunity: the synergy of natural products and exercise for optimal health.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Nutritional Supplements for Skin Health-A Review of What Should Be Chosen and Why.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- Influence of the 2000-m ergometer test on indirect markers of intestinal injury in competitive elite rowers in different training phases.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Polymethoxy-1-Alkenes Screening of Chlorella and Spirulina Food Supplements Coupled with In Vivo Toxicity Studies.Toxins · 2020Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this study was to analyze the response of selected components of the immune system in rowers to maximal physical exercise, and to verify if this response can be modulated by supplementation with spirulina (cyanobacterium
methodThe double-blind study included 19 members of the Polish Rowing Team. The subjects were randomly assigned to the supplemented group (
resultsOn the 2nd examination, athletes from the supplemented group showed neither a post-exercise increase in Treg count nor a post-recovery decrease in Tδγ cell count (both observed in the placebo group), and presented with significantly lower values of Treg/CTL prior to and after the exercise. During the same examination, rowers from the placebo group showed a significant post-recovery increase in Treg/(NK + Tδγ + CTL) ratio, which was absent in the supplemented group.
conclusionThe results of this study imply that supplementation with spirulina extract may protect athletes against a deficit in immune function (especially, anti-infectious function) associated with strenuous exercise, and may cause a beneficial shift in "overtraining threshold" preventing a radical deterioration of immunity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.