The effects of Spirulina on nitric oxide production in peritoneal macrophages of Balb/C mice with systemic candidiasis

Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) is a dietary supplement that is interesting for its immune-enhancing properties. In the present study, the effects of Spirulina on nitric oxide (NO) production in peritoneal macrophages of mice with systemic candidiasis were investigated. Mice were divided into four groups (G1-G4), 5 mice per group; animals received a dose of 800 mg/kg of S. platensis for four days and then were inoculated intravenously with 1×106Candida albicans (C. albicans). After 24 hours, they were euthanized and their intraperitoneal lavage macrophages were collected. Peritoneal macrophages were stimulated by Spirulina (10µg/ml), LPS(2µg/ml), and LPS+ Spirulina (2µg/ml, 10µg/ml) in vitro. Dulbecco`s modified Eagle medium (DMEM) alone was used for control group. Macrophages were cultivated for 24 hours, then the levels of nitrite in culture supernatants were measured by reading the optical density at 540 nm. The results revealed that there was a significant difference in NO production among the understudy groups (p<0.05) as well as among the isolated cells that were cultured in media with different treatments(DMEM, LPS, Spi, and LPS+Spi) (p<0.001). The NO production was synergistically induced when the cells were treated with LPS + Spirulina (9.6±0.38) in comparison with control culture (7.39±0.3). It seems that applying Spirulina+LPS has more acceptable effect on NO production than Spirulina alone.