What this work is about, in plain words
Does spirulina act on the tuberculosis pathogen? The authors tested a spirulina infusion in vitro and in mice with experimental infection.
Tuberculosis is increasingly caused by drug-resistant strains, so new natural substances against mycobacteria are being sought. The authors tested the cyanobacterium Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis.
A water–saline infusion was prepared from dry spirulina. Male Balb/c mice were infected intravenously with a multidrug-resistant clinical strain of tuberculosis mycobacteria. One group received the spirulina infusion by mouth for five days, another the drug isoniazid, and a third remained untreated. The number of mycobacteria in the lungs, liver and spleen and blood biochemistry were then assessed. Separately, the effect of the infusion on mycobacterial growth was tested in vitro.
According to the authors, mice that received spirulina had fewer mycobacteria in the liver and spleen than untreated mice; in 30 % of cases no mycobacteria were found in the lungs. In vitro, the infusion suppressed mycobacterial growth. At the same time, in mice given spirulina the liver enzymes ALT and AST rose 2–3-fold, and markers of fat and purine metabolism changed.
Limitations. A short course and a small number of animals; the counting method does not distinguish live mycobacteria from dead ones, as the authors themselves write. The rise in liver enzymes requires separate study. The title of the paper says "antimycotic" (antifungal), although it is about mycobacteria. This is an experiment in mice, not treatment of tuberculosis in humans. The results were obtained by the authors of the report and do not describe Laboratory 17 materials.