- Calcium spirulan, a compound found in spirulina, has been shown to inhibit influenza viral infection.
- In-vitro studies demonstrated calcium spirulan was an effective treatment for herpes and AIDS viruses.

The Antiviral Properties of Calcium Spirulan

- In-vivo studies showed positive benefits of spirulina on mice infected with influenza. The mice treated with spirulina had higher survival rates than the mice that were not. 
- The government of India has recommended its citizens take spirulina as a supplement during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep up activity of their immune systems. 
- Taking spirulina supplements may be one of the ways to combat COVID-19.


Santa Clara University

An in-silico study was performed to assess the effectiveness of C-phycoyanin, a compound in spirulina, to inhibit nsp12, a molecule that is required for replication of SARS-CoV-2. 

Study Investigating the Effectiveness of  C-Phycoyanin as a Coronaviral Protease Inhibitor

Wang, Y., Yang W., Chen Y. et al.(2020 Aug 1). Structural basis of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibition by a broad spectrum anti-coronaviral drug. American Journal of Cancer Research, 10(8): 2535-2545. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7471349/pdf/ajcr0010-2535.pdf	


Structural basis of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibition by a broad spectrum anti-coronaviral drug 

The Antiviral Properties of Spirulina 

Studies have demonstrated that nsp12 is essential for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to be able to replicate in host cells. As of August 2020, nsp12 is a popular target for treatment of COVID-19. However, it was found that nsp12 does not have much activity on its own. 

nsp12 is essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication 

- It was found that C-phycocyanin interacts almost as perfectly as ATP does with the active site of nsp12. Out of 1000 dock conformations, it showed a very low binding energy, at -4kcal/mol, meaning it binds to the active site spontaneously. 


Results of the Investigation of the Effectiveness of C-Phycoyanin as a Coronaviral Protease Inhibitor

-Wang and colleagues hypothesize that because C-phycocyanin has such a low binding energy with nsp12 and it is able to bond spontaneously, C-phycocyanin could bind to nsp12 instead of ATP, which would block the viral replication process. 


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