Abstract

Of highest biological value are natural concentrates of optimally combined substances produced by nature. One of food supplements of this kind is dietary Spirulina produced by the Tianshi firm (China). It is a most rationally balanced food supplement of a high biological value; it satisfies the needs of the whole body, including its immune system. The aim of the current work was to assess the effect of the multicomponent natural food supplement Spirulina on the physical development, blood morphological, biochemical picture and immune function of sportsmen. Materials and Methods: The study cohort comprised 12 high performance sportsmen (age 20-22 years). They were using tablets of Spirulina, a dietary product for 14 days. Physical development was determined with the aid of standard methods. The general blood picture was analyzed with the aid of a Micros-60 hematological analyzer (company ABX DIAGNOSTICS, France). Lymphocytes and their subsets were analysed by flow cytometery (FACSCalibur, Becton Dickinson Immunocytometry Systems (BDIS, USA) and the absolute and percentage values were calculated. To evaluate immune function lymphocyte blasttransformation response to mitogens was studied. Results: Investigations carried out on endurance-training sportsmen showed that a 14-d administration of Spirulina exerted a positive effect on blood morphological composition indices and its biochemical changes. The results of our study confirm the positive effect of Spirulina food supplement on the quantitative parameters of immune system. Part of the study cohort after weeks showed a tendency of normalizing CD3+, CD3+CD4+lympocite count: positive changes were still present two weeks following the interruption of Spirulina intake. Verf.-Referat