Exciting New Irritable Bowel Syndrome Study Suggests Spirulina

A promising new study provides evidence that spirulina can improve symptoms and quality of life in people with irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 5-10% of all people. It affects women more than men. Because of the pain, and because 38% of people with IBS experience depression and 40% experience anxiety, IBS can seriously affect quality of life.

Recent research is expanding our knowledge of IBS. It appears that gut permeability allows immune cells to pass into the intestine, leading to inflammation that contributes to the pain and the other symptoms of IBS.

This new double-blind study of 54 people with IBS gave either a placebo or 1,000mg of spirulina a day for 12 weeks.

Zonulin is a marker of permeability, and some studies have shown that it is elevated in people with IBS. At the end of the study, the people on spirulina had significantly lower levels of zonulin, suggesting improved intestinal permeability.

They also had significantly better overall IBS-Severity system score. Scores improved by 32.17 points in the spirulina group while worsening by 1.07 points on the placebo. IBS quality of life scores also improved significantly more in the spirulina group, going up 7.05 points on spirulina and down 1.57 points on placebo.

The spirulina group had significantly lower markers of oxidative stress and significantly higher markers of total antioxidant capacity.

This study provides the first evidence that spirulina can help people with IBS.

Nutr J. 2025 Apr 21;24:64