C-Phycocyanin and Cancer: What a Review Says About the Evidence

Research note: This article concerns a review of isolated C-phycocyanin research, not a clinical study of Spirulina food.

What the review examined

Silva and colleagues (2018) reviewed proposed cellular targets and mechanisms of C-phycocyanin in cancer research, including laboratory and animal studies.

What the review says about uncertainty

The review describes experimental findings but also notes that mechanisms and targets were not fully defined and that clinical use was not established. The older article's “natural alternative cancer treatment” framing and claim that C-phycocyanin overcomes drug resistance go beyond what this review can establish.

What this means for SPRU

The source does not show that eating Spirulina or SPRU prevents or treats cancer. Findings about an isolated compound cannot be assumed to apply to a food product.

Source

Silva et al. (2018), “C-Phycocyanin: Cellular targets, mechanisms of action and multi drug resistance in cancer” (review).