Experimental study of spirulina platensis in treating allergic rhinitis in rats

Objective To determine the therapeutic effect of spirulina platensis in allergic rhinitis(AR). Methods Ovalbumin sensitized white rats used as AR animals were treated with spirulina platensis (SPP). At the end of the treatment, the differences in the behavior science were observed; the changes in the nasal mucosa and mast cell degranulation were studied pathologically; and the levels of serum histamine and total immunoglobulin (Ig)E were determined by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay. Results The behavior science score of the SPP treatment group was lower than that of the negative control group (P0.01); inflammatory reaction of nasal mucosa in the SPP treatment group were remarkably relieved; the number of nasal mucosa mastocyte and mast cell degranulation in the SPP treatment group were lower than that of the negative control group (P0.01). The levels of serum histamine and total IgE in the SPP treatment group were lower than that of the negative control group (P0.01). It had no significant difference in the positive control group and the SPP treatment group and the blank control group (P0.05).Conclusion Spirulina platensis can prevent and treat AR in rats, which implies the possibility of using spirulina platensis for AR patients in the future.