Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40259354›Full record

ArticleNutrition journal2025

Effects of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis supplementation on intestinal permeability, antioxidant and inflammatory markers, quality of life and disease severity in patients with constipated-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial.

Saeede Jafari Nasab, Awat Feizi, Parisa Hajihashemi, Mohammad-Hassan Entezari, Manoj Sharma, Peyman Adibi, Mohammad Bagherniya

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In one paragraph

Article in Nutrition journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pharmacological insights intoFrontiers in pharmacology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Saeede Jafari NasabDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Awat FeiziDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Parisa HajihashemiIsfahan Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammad-Hassan EntezariDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Manoj SharmaDepartment of Social & Behavioral Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
Peyman AdibiIsfahan Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammad BagherniyaDepartment of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. bagherniya@yahoo.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) which is characterized by chronic pain related to defecation and alteration in GI motility. Recent findings indicated that intestinal barrier dysfunction, hyperpermeability, oxidative stress, and inflammation play a role in IBS pathogenesis. Considering the antioxidant properties of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis (SP), this study aimed to investigate the effect of SP supplementation on Quality of life (QoL), disease severity, antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress index and intestinal permeability in constipation-dominant IBS (IBS-C) patients.

methodsThis study was a parallel randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 60 IBS-C patients aged 18-50 years. The patients were given either 1 g SP (two capsules/day; each capsule contained 500 mg of SP) or placebo for 12 weeks. IBS-QoL, IBS-Severity system score (IBS-SSS), plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), and zonulin levels were measured at baseline and the end of the intervention. Univariate comparison and intention-to-treat (ITT) were used for analysis.

resultsSP supplementation compared to placebo resulted in a significant increase in QoL score (7.05 ± 2.02 vs. - 1.57 ± 2.49; p = 0.008), TAC (145.27 ± 30.77 vs. -54.90 ± 45.72; p < 0.001) and decrease in IBS-SSS (-32.17 ± 8.96 vs. 1.07 ± 8.49; p = 0.002), MDA level (- 11.61 ± 2.57 vs. - 2.00 ± 2.24; p < 0.001) and zonulin level (- 0.22 ± 0.05 vs. 0.12 ± 0.07; p = 0.001). These results remained significant after adjusting for baseline values.

conclusionsSP supplementation demonstrated a promising effect in the management of IBS. However, larger trials with a dose-dependent approach in IBS-C and other subtypes of IBS are warranted.

trial registrationThe study protocol was approved by the ethical committee at the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (Registration No. IR.MUI. RESEARCH: REC.1401.370) and registered online at http://www.IRCT.ir (code: IRCT20140208016529N8, approved date 25.04.2023).

Indexed as

Antioxidant capacityArthrospira platensisCyanobacteriaIntestinal permeabilityIrritable bowel syndromeSpirulina platensis

Identifiers

PMID40259354
PMCPMC12013150

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.