A dietary cholesterol challenge study to assess Chlorella supplementation in maintaining healthy lipid levels in adults: a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study

What this study found

Chlorella supplementation favorably modified the lipid response to the dietary cholesterol challenge. Total cholesterol rose in placebo from 4.24 ± 0.16 to 4.71 ± 0.15, but remained lower with Chlorella at week 4 (4.47 ± 0.12), with a significant group x time effect (p = 0.037). LDL-C also showed a significant group x time effect (p = 0.012), with placebo increasing from 2.28 ± 0.11 to 2.59 ± 0.11 and Chlorella remaining essentially unchanged (2.49 ± 0.11 to 2.51 ± 0.12). HDL-C increased over time in both groups, but the group x time effect was not significant (p = 0.404). Serum lutein and…

Study & population

Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in healthy adults without major health conditions.

Intervention

Chlorella vulgaris was given orally at 5 g/day (12 tablets/day; 416 mg dried Chlorella per tablet) with meals for 4 weeks.

Key limitation

The active arm was small (n = 17), and the intervention lasted only 4 weeks.

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