title: Hypocholesterolemic effect of spirulina in patients with hyperlipidemic nephrotic syndrome.
abstract: In nephrotic syndrome, large amounts of plasma proteins are lost in urine, causing a decrease in the plasma oncotic pressure. This leads to enhanced hepatic synthesis of albumin and other proteins, including lipoproteins, causing a secondary hyperlipidemia. Essential fatty acids such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) can prevent accumulation of cholesterol in the body, and spirulina has an appreciable amount of GLA. In this study 23 patients (age 2 to 13 years) with nephrotic syndrome received either medication (group I) or medication plus 1 g/day Spirulina (group II). Height, weight, and serum levels of fasting blood sugar, triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), and low- and high-density cholesterol fractions (LDL-C and HDL-C, respectively) were measured before and after the 2-month study period. Mean height and weight were normal compared with healthy, age-matched Indian children. Lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly increased at baseline. TC significantly decreased by 116.33 mg/dl, LDL-C by 94.14 mg/dl, and triglycerides by 67.72 mg/dl in group II; in control group I, these values fell by 69.87, 61.13, and 22.62 mg/dl, respectively. The LDL-C:HDL-C ratio also decreased significantly, by 1.66 in group II and 1.13 in group I. TC:HDL-C decreased by 1.96 in group II and 1.19 in group I. HDL-C:LDL-C also improved significantly in both the groups. It can be concluded that spray-dried Spirulina capsules, rich in antioxidants, GLA, amino acids, and fatty acids, helped reduce the increased levels of lipids in patients with hyperlipidemic nephrotic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Foods and Nutrition, M S University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samuels
authors.forename: U V
authors.initials: UV
authors.lastname: Mani
authors.forename: U M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Iyer
authors.forename: U S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Nayak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D009404:Nephrotic Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D053545:Spirulina; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid; D002784:Cholesterol