Algae as a surprising source of environmentally friendly protein to support muscle turnover

With more of us looking for alternatives to eating animals, new research has found a surprising environmentally friendly source of protein – algae.

The University of Exeter study has been published in The Journal of Nutrition and is the first of its kind to demonstrate that the ingestion of two of the most commercially available algal species deliver high doses of micronutrients and are rich in protein support muscle remodeling in young healthy adults. Their findings suggest that algae may be an interesting and sustainable alternative to animal-derived protein with respect to maintaining and building muscle.

“With more and more people willing to reduce meat consumption because of ethical and environmental reasons, we believe it’s important and necessary to start looking into sustainable and nutritious protein alternatives. Our work identifies algae as a promising novel protein source which may become part of a secure and sustainable food future.

Foods rich in protein and essential amino acids have the capacity to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, which can be measured in the laboratory by determining the incorporation of labelled amino acids into muscle tissue proteins and translated to a rate over time. Animal-derived protein sources robustly stimulate resting and post-exercise muscle protein synthesis.  However, because animal-based protein production is associated with increasing ethical and environmental concerns, there is growing interest in nonanimal-derived and sustainably produced protein-rich sources.”

It’s now been discovered that an intriguing environmentally friendly alternative to animal-derived protein is algae. Cultivated under controlled conditions, spirulina and chlorella are the two most commercially available algae that contain high doses of micronutrients and are rich in protein. However, the capacity of spirulina and chlorella to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis in humans remains unknown.

To bridge this knowledge gap, the University of Exeter assessed the impact of ingesting spirulina and chlorella, compared with an established high-quality nonanimal-derived dietary protein source (fungal-derived mycoprotein) on blood amino acid concentrations, as well as resting and post-exercise myofibrillar protein synthesis rates. Thirty-six healthy young adults participated in a randomized, double-blind trial. Following a bout of one-legged resistance leg exercise, participants ingested a drink containing 25 grams of protein from fungal-derived mycoprotein, spirulina or chlorella. Blood and skeletal muscle samples were collected at baseline and during a four-hour post-feeding and post-exercise period. Blood amino acid concentrations and myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in rested and exercised tissue were assessed.

Protein ingestion increased blood amino acid concentrations, but most rapidly and with higher peak responses following consumption of spirulina compared with mycoprotein and chlorella. Protein ingestion increased myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in both rested and exercised tissue, with no differences between groups, but with higher rates in exercised compared with rested muscle.

This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that ingestion of spirulina or chlorella robustly stimulates myofibrillar protein synthesis in resting and exercised muscle tissue, and to an equivalent extent as a high-quality nonanimal derived counterpart (mycoprotein).

In a companion commentary, Lucy Rogers and Professor Leigh Breen from the University of Birmingham highlight the strengths and utility of these novel findings, while identifying paths forward for future research that focuses on diverse populations such as older adults.

The paper is entitled Algae Ingestion Increases Resting and Exercised Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Rates to a Similar Extent as Mycoprotein in Young Adults and is published in The Journal of Nutrition.

Beyond a myriad of other consequences, childhood trauma appears to raise the specter of chronic pain in adulthood, new research shows.

Researchers pored over 75 years' worth of data involving more than 826,000 people. That included information on levels of neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse, plus other serious trauma of childhood.

Their review found strong links between a history of childhood physical abuse, especially, and chronic pain conditions decades later. But other forms of "adverse childhood experiences" (ACEs) appeared linked, too.

“These results are extremely concerning, particularly as over 1 billion children – half of the global child population – are exposed to ACEs each year, putting them at increased risk of chronic pain and disability later in life,” said study lead author André Bussières, an assistant professor of physical and occupational therapy at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

The findings — based on data from 57 studies — were published Dec. 19 in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology.

Besides various forms of abuse, other trauma included in the new analysis involved domestic violence, living with a family member who has substance abuse, or the loss of a parent.

Conditions of adult chronic pain in the study included low back pain, arthritis, headache and migraine, often severe enough to interfere with daily living.

Overall, kids exposed directly to neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse were 45% more apt to suffer a chronic pain condition as an adult, compared to those without such exposures, Bussières' team found.

Physical abuse had the biggest impact, being linked to both chronic pain and pain so bad it led to real disability. 

Adding in "indirect" trauma -- things like domestic violence, a parent's substance abuse or parental loss -- upped the odds for chronic pain further, the study found.

Bussières said in a journal news release that all of this shows that there's “an urgent need to develop targeted interventions and support systems to break the cycle of adversity and improve long-term health outcomes for those individuals who have been exposed to childhood trauma."

His team is convinced more needs to be done to understand why a person who has suffered childhood trauma is at higher risk for adult physical pain. A better understanding of the link might also lead to new and better ways to help prevent these longer-term outcomes, researchers said.

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