Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Well-tolerated Spirulina extract inhibits influenza virus replication and reduces virus-induced mortality

doi: 10.1038/srep24253

Figure Lengend Snippet: ( a ) The influenza virus strains A/WSN/33(H1N1), A/TW/3446/02(H3N2), and B/TW/70555/05, and ( b ) the oseltamivir-resistant strains A/TW/70058/09(H1N1) and A/TW/147/09(H1N1), propagated on MDCK cells, all exhibited dose-dependent reductions in virus plaque formation after treatment with 0.375, 0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/ml of Spirulina extract. Data represent the mean ± SD for three independent experiments. Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed unpaired t-test, and used as the basis to label results as ns, not significant; * P ≤ 0.05; ** P ≤ 0.01; or *** P ≤ 0.001. ( c ) The TCID 50 assay showed that Spirulina extract reduced virus production of the influenza A/TW/04/2014 (H7N9) virus.

Article Snippet: The cold water extract of Spirulina was supplied by FEBICO (Far East Bio-Tec Co., Taipei, Taiwan).

Techniques: Virus, Two Tailed Test

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Well-tolerated Spirulina extract inhibits influenza virus replication and reduces virus-induced mortality

doi: 10.1038/srep24253

Figure Lengend Snippet: Antiviral activity of Spirulina extract against influenza virus strains in vitro .

Article Snippet: The cold water extract of Spirulina was supplied by FEBICO (Far East Bio-Tec Co., Taipei, Taiwan).

Techniques: Activity Assay, Virus, In Vitro

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Well-tolerated Spirulina extract inhibits influenza virus replication and reduces virus-induced mortality

doi: 10.1038/srep24253

Figure Lengend Snippet: ( a ) 14-day acute oral toxicity study was conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats given 0, 1,000, 3,000, or 5,000 mg/kg of Spirulina extract. Body weight changes were tracked for ( a ) male and ( b ) female rats during the study period, and no significant changes were observed. ( a ) 14-day subacute study, in which Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to repeated dosing with 750, 1,500, or 3,000 mg/kg/day of Spirulina extract for 14 consecutive days, was also conducted. Body weight changes for ( c ) male and ( d ) female rats were measured on Day 1, Day 8, and Day 14. All data are presented as mean ± SD (N = 10).

Article Snippet: The cold water extract of Spirulina was supplied by FEBICO (Far East Bio-Tec Co., Taipei, Taiwan).

Techniques:

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Well-tolerated Spirulina extract inhibits influenza virus replication and reduces virus-induced mortality

doi: 10.1038/srep24253

Figure Lengend Snippet: ( a ) A time of addition assay was conducted, in which 2.5 mg/mL of Spirulina extract was added at the indicated timepoints to MDCK cells infected with the A/WSN/33(H1N1) influenza strain. E 0 medium was overlaid on cultures at 9 hours post-infection, and supernatants were harvested at 12 hours post-infection. ( b ) Virus yields were determined by the plaque assay, and reported as a percentage of untreated controls. Data represent the mean ± SD for two independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed with two-tailed unpaired t-test, and the statistical significance was determined to be * P ≤ 0.05, ** P ≤ 0.01, or *** P ≤ 0.001 for each treated group versus the virus control.

Article Snippet: The cold water extract of Spirulina was supplied by FEBICO (Far East Bio-Tec Co., Taipei, Taiwan).

Techniques: Infection, Virus, Plaque Assay, Two Tailed Test, Control

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Well-tolerated Spirulina extract inhibits influenza virus replication and reduces virus-induced mortality

doi: 10.1038/srep24253

Figure Lengend Snippet: ( a ) 5 × 10 5 PFUs of the influenza A/WSN/33(H1N1) virus was incubated with 1.5, 3, 6, or 12 mg/mL of Spirulina extract at room temperature for 2 hours, after which cultures underwent a 10 4 -fold dilution to derive samples containing ~50 PFU and negligible amounts of Spirulina extract, which were then used in a plaque assay to assess viral viability. ( b ) Plaque assays showed that plaque formation percentages for Spirulina extract-treated viruses were significantly lower than untreated controls. Statistical analysis was performed with the two-tailed unpaired t-test, and used as the basis to label results as ns, not significant; * P ≤ 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. ( c ) Monolayer MDCK cells in 6-well plates were either treated with 3 mg/mL of Spirulina extract for 2 hours, after which the culture medium was replaced with fresh medium containing no Spirulina extract (the −3 ~ −1 group), or treated with 3 mg/mL of Spirulina extract just prior to and during viral adsorption (the −1 ~ +1 group). 50 P.F.U. of the influenza A/WSN/33(H1N1) virus were added to cultures at Hour 0, and a plaque assay was conducted to assess viral viability after 48 hours of incubation. ( d ) Plaque assays showed that the plaque formation percentage of the −3 ~ −1 group was comparable to the untreated virus control, while plaque formation was significantly inhibited in the −1 ~ +1 group. Statistical analysis was performed with the two-tailed unpaired t-test, and used as the basis to label results as ns, not significant; * P ≤ 0.05; ** P ≤ 0.01; or *** P ≤ 0.001 ( e ) Varying concentrations of Spirulina extract were added to 96-well plates containing 1% of guinea pig RBCs and 4 HA units of influenza A/WSN/33(H1N1), A/TW/3446/02(H3N2), or B/TW/70555/05 viruses. In the virus control column at far right, no Spirulina extract was added. Results showed that concentrations of Spirulina extract above 0.78 mg/mL were capable of inhibiting influenza hemagglutination.

Article Snippet: The cold water extract of Spirulina was supplied by FEBICO (Far East Bio-Tec Co., Taipei, Taiwan).

Techniques: Virus, Incubation, Plaque Assay, Two Tailed Test, Adsorption, Control

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article Title: Well-tolerated Spirulina extract inhibits influenza virus replication and reduces virus-induced mortality

doi: 10.1038/srep24253

Figure Lengend Snippet: Six-week-old female BALB/c mice were inoculated with 2 × 10 4 PFUs of the influenza A/WSN/33(H1N1) virus, after receiving Spirulina extract 4 hours prior to infection by oral gavage. Spirulina extract was again administered at 6 hours post-infection and twice daily thereafter for 4 days, at respective daily doses of 10, 25, or 50 mg/kg. Survival rates were improved in mice treated with Spirulina extract, as compared to vehicle-treated controls that did not receive Spirulina extract. Statistical analyses of the survival curves were performed using the Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test compared each Spirulina extract treated group to the vehicle-treated group (n = 5 mice per group). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.

Article Snippet: The cold water extract of Spirulina was supplied by FEBICO (Far East Bio-Tec Co., Taipei, Taiwan).

Techniques: Virus, Infection