Question:
> >If anyone would like some information on this super food contact me at > Oh? Is this a "food"?
Mainly in and around Klamath Falls, Oregon, where this particular silliness has its greatest adherents. — Chris Green Advanced Technology Center Laguna Hills, California
Response:
>If anyone would like some information on this super food contact me at
Super food? What’s super about it? How many foods do you know that have secret files about their toxicity, such as laboratory report #1399 — the document that has Cell Tech shaking in their boots? Here’s a file about the nutrition in the algae: > Amino Acid content found in 2 grams of AFA: in mg; Essential: Arginine >76, Histidine 19,Isoleucine 59,(help s muscle production and liver >damage)) Lysine 69, Methionine 15, Phenylalanine 51(elevates mood >suppresses appetite), Thronine 65, Tryptophan 15(natures’s >tranquilizer), Valine 64. > Non essential: Asparagine 95, Alanine 93 lowers cholesterol and curbs >appetite., Glutamine 152(detoxifies),Cystine 4,Glycine 59, Proline 57, >Serine 59, Tyrosine 35(reduces food cravings, depression and drug >withdrawal),Aspartic Acid 15, Glutamic Acid 8.
Yeah, but 2 grams of AFA is eight capsules, or about two dollars worth. For that money, you could buy a dozen eggs that would have quantities of amino acids measured in grams, not milligrams. > Without natural organic vitamins we would find ourselves physically and > emotionally drained of energy. > Vitamin content: B1, B2 B6, B3, B5, Folic Acid, Vitamin C (Ascorbic >Acid)-5 times more than Spirulina, B12("energy")Vitamin E, Betacarotene, >Biotin, Choline.
Note that no quantities are stated here. On my bottle of Omega Sun, it says six capsules have 36% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of beta-carotene, 3% of vitamin B-2, 196% of vitamin B-12, and 2% of vitamin E. For vitamins B-1, B-6, C, niacin, and folic acid, the quantity is less than 2% of U.S. RDA. There’s almost no vitamin content in the algae! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Today in this modern world of chemically fertilized and over worked >topsoil, mineral deficiency is even more likely to occur than vitamin >deficiency: Natural minerals do not have to be highly concentrated to >contribute to good health- they need only to be absorbed and naturally >chelated. > Mineral Content: Boron (bone strengthening),Calcium(lowers cholesterol >and protects against cardiovascular by lowering blood pressure),Chromium >(sugar regulator-glucose regulator),Cobalt (repairs nerve tissue), >Copper (absorbs free radicals), Negatively charged Fluoride (protects >agents tooth decay and slows down osteoporosis), Iodine (Thyroid gland >need to control metabolism) Needed daily; body can not store it),Iron >(Fatigue, irritability, depression is low enthusiasm are symptoms of >iron deficient anemia), Magnesium ("anti-stress", plays a role in more >than 325 different enzyme systems-relaxes bronchial muscles in >asthmatics, used to treat irregular heart beat rythemoids, elevates HDL >the good cholesterol, decreases the platelet thickness which decreases >the tendency of blood clots and cause of high blood pressure, typically >deficient in those who have rheumatoid arthritis, Molybdenum (micro >nutrient ;bioactivate human enzymes associated with longevity >enhancement and free radical absorption. Nickel(needed for growth and >reproduction) Potassium (reduces blood vessel restriction,important to >electrolyte and acid based balance inside human cells .Selenium >(increase elastic youthfulness of skin and helpful in removing age >spots, may reduce skin cancer, wrinkle reducer.) Silicon; (strengthens >the human skin), Zinc(used to activate digestive enzymes that make >stomach acids, canker sores are a sign of iron deficiency, prostate >enlargement caused from a lack of zinc.
Again, what quantities are we talking about? According to the label on the bottle of Omega Sun I am holding, six capsules give you 2% of the U.S. RDA of calcium and 3% of the iron. For chromium, copper, iodine, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc, the quantity is less than 2% of U.S. RDA. There’s almost no mineral content in the algae! > Green Foods such as barley grass, Chlorella, wheat grass juice, and >sprouts lag far behind two most popular blue-green algae, AFA and >Spirulina. Both are considered green superfood; One of the major >differences is simply that AFA is the greenest superfood known, because
Is this really a superfood? It has almost no vitamins or minerals. No, I think we have to look elsewhere for the cause behind the effects reported by SBGA users.
Response:
>If anyone would like some information on this super food contact me at
THE MICROCYSTINS MEMORANDUM Copyright 1997, 1998 Mark Thorson Super Blue Green (registered trademark, Cell Tech brand) algae is the species known as _Aphanizomenon_flos-aquae_. The remainder of this file is divided into five parts: I. What are microcystins? II. Where do microcystins come from? III. What do microcystins do? IV. Is any level of microcystins safe? V. How can algae users protect against microcystins? PART I. What are microcystins? Quoting from _Toxicon_, volume 32, number 12, "Use of a Colorimetric Protein Phosphatase Inhibition Assay and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Study of Microcystins and Nodularins.", by An and Carmichael, 1994, pages 1495 and 1496: "Microcystins are monocyclic heptapeptide liver toxins produced by species of cyanobacteria within the genera _Microcystis_, _Anabaena_, _Oscillatoria_, and _Nostoc_ (Carmichael, 1992). The toxins contain two variable L-amino acids plus three D-amino acids plus the unusual amino acids, N-methyldehydroalanine and 3-amino-9-methoxy- 10-phenyl-2,6,8-trimethyl- deca-4(E)6(E)-dienoic acid (Adda) (Reinhart _et_al_, 1988)." [A peptide is a small protein. A heptapeptide is a protein composed of seven amino acids. Monocyclic means it's a one-ring loop. A microcystin is a seven-member ring of amino acids, containing three D- amino acids and two weird amino acids, neither kind normally being found in human food. Amino acids can have two mirror-image forms, called D and L. All amino acids used to build proteins in the human body are L-amino acids, except glycine which is reflection-symmetric (i.e. neither D nor L). D-amino acids are nutritionally inert, and they may contribute towards the ability of microcystins to survive the digestive process intact and get absorbed.] Quoting from page 1497: "Recently, both microcystin and nodularin have been found to be potent inhibitors of protein phosphatase types 1 and 2A (Yoshizawa _et_al_, 1990) as well as tumor promoters in laboratory animals (Nishiwaka- Matsushima _et_al_, 1992b; Falconer, 1991). They are also suspected to be involved with promotion of primary liver cancer in humans exposed to long-term low doses of these cyclic peptide toxins through drinking water (Carmichael, 1994; Yu, 1989)." PART II. Where do microcystins come from? Quoting from "A Cell Tech Statement Regarding _Microcystis_ in Klamath and Agency Lakes", Cell Tech press release, September 1996: "Cell Tech also closely monitors algal blooms in Klamath and Agency Lakes by regularly performing species identification and quantification." "Our test results indicate that there is currently a high level of _Microcystis_aeruginosa_ in certain parts of the lake, particularly Agency Lake." [Cell Tech claims their standard is no more than 1% non-_Aphanizomenon_ species in SBGA.] Quoting from "A Message from Christian Drapeau", a 8, 1996,: "Microcystins are regularly found, but only in non- significant amounts (specifically, 0.1- 0.2 mcg/g of SBGA)." Quoting from a posting made on May 25, 1997, From Wright State University, Dept. of Bio. Sciences, 10/28/96. (513-873-2655 FAX: 513-873-3320) ELISA assay for … microcystins: Measurable levels of microsystin or nodularin were found in samples QA- 9638 – QA-9643 (ug/g): 638 1.1 639 0.4 640 1.3 641 1.0 642 1.7 643 0.7 [Note that these numbers are about ten times higher than those admitted in the previous quote.] Quoting from "Response to Vegetarian Times", a letter from Marta Kollman, October 31, 1996, formerly but no longer available on Cell Tech’s fax-on-demand service: "We know from rigorous testing over the years that _Microcystis_ has always existed in Klamath Lake at very low levels." [But how low is low enough? Read on!] PART III. What do microcystins do? Quoting from _Journal_of_Cancer_Research_and_ _Clinical_Oncology_, volume 118, "Liver Tumor Promotion by the Cyanobacterial Peptide Toxin Microcystin-LR", by Nishiwaki-Matsushima, Ohta, Nishiwaki, Suganuma, Kohyama, Ishikawa, Carmichael, and Fujiki, 1992, page 421: "In two experiments, we found that microcystin-LR has a potent tumor-promoting activity in rat liver initiated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) below the concentrations that do not release aminotransferase (transaminase) from the liver into the blood serum. Microcystin acts on the liver through the okadaic acid pathway and is one of the strongest liver tumor promoters found to date." [DEN is a carcinogen used to seed cancer foci in the experimental animals. Once seeded, the experiment measured the promotion of these cancer foci by various suspected tumor promoters. Release of aminotransferase into the blood would be a sign of an acutely hepatotoxic reaction, which microcystins may cause. This set of experiments found potent liver tumor promotion at levels below those which are acutely or sub-acutely toxic to the liver, as indicated by the lack of release of aminotransferase.] Quoting from page 423: "The mechanism of action of microcystin in liver cells is similar to that of okadaic acid, and therefore most likely expressed through the okadaic pathway. We have found that the okadaic pathway, involving inhibition of protein phosphatase 1 and 2A activities, is a general mechanism of tumor promotion in various organs." [Inhibition of PP1 and PP2A ain't good!] Quoting from _Biochemical_Journal_, volume 306, "Inhibition of Specific Binding of Okadaic Acid to Protein Phosphatase 2A by Microcystin-LR, Calyculin-A and Tautomycin: Method of Analysis of Interactions of Tight-Binding Ligands with Target Protein", by Takai, Sakai, Nagai, Mieskes, Isobe, Isono, and Yasumoto, 1995, page 662: "Of the protein phosphatase inhibitors examined, microcystin-LR exhibited the highest affinity to PP2A." "Of the inhibitors examined, it was also microcystin- LR that exhibited the highest affinity for PP1." [A tight-binding ligand is a molecule that holds on to a binding site of an enzyme so strongly it seldom lets go. In this paper, the rate constants for binding of toxins to PP2A were about 10 to 100 billion times greater than their dissociation constants.] [That's a big difference in favor of binding! For all practical purposes, binding is irreversible. Even at low levels of exposure, the PP1 and PP2A enzymes suck up the toxin and keep it. Can any long- term exposure be safe, if liver enzymes are accumulating the toxin?] Quoting from _Biochemical_and_Biophysical_Research_ _Communications_, volume 216, number 1, "_In_Vivo_ and _in_Vitro_ Binding of Microcystin to Protein Phosphatases 1 and 2A", by Runnegar, Berndt, Kong, Lee, and Zhang, 1995, page 162: "Microcystins are normally cell impermeant, but they accumulate in the liver by specific carrier-mediated transport in hepatocytes which results in PP inhibition and toxicity." [Hepatocytes are liver cells. Microcystins accumulate in liver cells.] Quoting from pages 167 and 168: "We have shown that microcystin, a potent and specific inhibitor of PP1 and PP2A activity, is covalently bound to both PP1 and PP2A catalytic subunits in hepatocytes incubated with the toxin." [This paper explains why the binding of microcystins to liver enzymes is virtually irreversible. Most molecules bind to enzymes because of close fit. The enzyme will have a pocket shaped like the molecule, and the molecule will fit into that pocket like a key fitting into a lock. Microcystins are unusual in that they form covalent bonds to their binding sites on liver enzymes. This is like a key which not only fits the lock, but also proceeds to weld itself to the lock.] PART IV. Is any level of microcystins safe? Quoting from _Journal_of__Gastroenterology_and_ _Hepatology_, volume 10, "Primary prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma", by Shui-Zhang Yu, 1995, page 678: "Consequently, the question of specifically which carcinogens or promoters are found within pond-ditch water arises. Recently, microcystin was found in several ponds and ditches in the high-endemic areas of hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, there are differences observed in the quantity of microcystin found in the drinking water of hepatocellular carcinoma patients and the water ingested by controls. According to Kuiper-Goodman’s report based on results in mice, the tentative tolerable daily intake of microcystins in water is 0.5 micrograms per liter for a body weight of 70 kilograms and assuming 1.5 liters per day water intake. We have tested water taken from shallow wells (i.e. 2 to 3 meter deep wells), in Tongan, Pujian in winter time and found only one sample in ten that was positive for microcystin (0.53 nanograms per deciliter). However, in samples taken from pond-ditch water in high- endemic areas, microcystin levels were found to be 1.30 plus or minus 0.18 micrograms per 200 milliliters compared with 1.14 plus or minus 0.32 micrograms per 200 milliliters from pond-ditch water in less endemic areas." [Multiplying 0.5 micrograms per liter by 1.5 liters per day results in a maximum safe dose of 0.75 micrograms per day. Obviously, there is an assumption here of 70 kilograms body weight. A child would be able to tolerate a much smaller dose.] [With regard to SBGA, they are regulated at 1 microgram per gram dry weight of the algae. One capsule contains 0.25 grams of algae (some of Cell Tech's competitors deliver 0.5 grams per capsule). Therefore, three capsules would put someone at the limit cited in this paper for daily low-dose exposure to microcystins.] Quoting from a response to this calculation from Cell Tech consultant Wayne Carmichael: "Again with microcystin he [Mark Thorson] is … read more »
Response:
If anyone would like some information on this super food contact me at
Response:
>If anyone would like some information on this super food contact me at
Oh? Is this a "food"? AN ANATOXIN-A PRIMER Copyright Mark Thorson 1995, 1996, 1997 Super Blue Green (registered trademark, Cell Tech brand) algae is the species known as _Aphanizomenon_flos-aquae_. The remainder of this file is divided into five parts: I. What do people say about Super Blue Green Algae? II. What is anatoxin-a? III. Where does anatoxin-a come from? IV. What does anatoxin-a do? V. How can algae users protect against anatoxin-a? PART I. What do people say about Super Blue Green Algae? Here’s a few quotes collected from both Cell Tech promotional literature and the FDA file on Cell Tech. There’s remarkable agreement between these two sources on the effects of the algae. Capitalization added. Quoting from _Personal_Experiences_with_Super_Blue_ _Green_Algae_ (Cell Tech promotional literature): "On my initial consumption I felt better than ever, having incredible energy and elation. The excitement of it KEPT ME UP MOST OF THE NIGHT, yet that day at work I was without fatigue." — C.H. "Since I’ve been taking Super Blue Green Algae I experience very little jet-lag, sleep well, feel more alert than exhausted on a long flight. Fellow flight attendants are ASTOUNDED WITH MY ENERGY LEVEL!" — L.L.D. "When he was in the eighth grade, we decided to give him the Super Blue Green Algae. And we didn’t tell anyone, because we didn’t want there to be any bias. He took about six capsules, three Omega Sun and three Alpha Sun." "At the end of two weeks three teachers called me and asked me, ‘What are you doing different, Mrs. D? Is Ricky BACK ON A DRUG or something?’ They said his work had dramatically improved. His attention span was better, his concentration had increased, he was responding and his school work was getting done and it was accurate." — Mrs. D. "We have begun to suggest Super Blue Green Algae to clients WITHDRAWING FROM COCAINE, with excellent results. It helps them through the depression and cravings connected with KICKING COCAINE." — Robert Marrone, PhD, Sierra Center for the Healing Arts, Nevada City, CA. Quoting from the official FDA Complaint/Injury Report on Cell Tech, October 31, 1995, filed by Lina Cicchetto, Consumer Complaint Coordinator: "Product was supposed to be used in this manner: for the first week take digestive enzymes with spectrabiotics capsule 2 a day increasing weekly. For energy, after a week add to the initial capsules one capsule of the ‘Blue Green Algae’ capsule." "She [the complainant] did this for a week then she added the algae, the first day she felt very energized, but did not sleep, next day she was so wired she COULD NOT SLEEP FOR A WEEK." Quoting from the official FDA Complaint/Injury Report on Cell Tech, October 6, 1995, filed by Karen L. Robles, Consumer Safety Officer: "Complainant began taking blue-green algae product and after 10 months felt no benefits. She stopped taking the product and has had an ENERGY IMBALANCE since that time. She has been suffering WITHDRAWL and energy imbalance." Quoting from the official FDA Complaint/Injury Follow-Up Report on Cell Tech, November 24, 1995, filed by Susan R. Nelson, Supervisory Consumer Safety Officer: "She [the complainant] stated she did not feel the benefits and quit taking the product (she was still taking the ——). She immediately had an ENERGY CRASH and had to stay in bed for a week, she couldn’t get out of bed. effect on her and she has not felt the same since she quit the product." Quoting from the official FDA Complaint/Injury Report on Cell Tech, April 4, 1995, filed by Cecilia Wolyniak, Division of Emergency and Enforcement Operations [quoting a complainant]: "I believe Cell Tech’s algae is a POWERFUL DRUG which must be regulated by the FDA. Further, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has cited Cell Tech for rat droppings in the storage areas and for a substantial number of insect parts in the product. It is difficult to believe that the FDA would permit a company like Cell Tech to sell what I believe to be a POTENT DRUG, under the guise of the label of ‘food supplements,’ under DSHEA of 1994 without oversight, monitoring, control and mandated safety testing. Simple logic would dictate that in addition to efficacy safety testing, the FDA would not permit a Merck, Squibb or a Genentech to allow insect particles in their products sanctioned by the FDA or permit rat droppings in their product storage areas." PART II. What is anatoxin-a? Quoting from _Toxicon_, volume 17, "Pharmacology of Anatoxin-a, Produced by the Freshwater Cyanophyte _Anabaena_flos-aquae_ NRC-44-1", by Carmichael, Biggs, and Peterson, 1979, page 229: "Anatoxin-a (formerly called very fast death factor) is the term being used for the potent alkaloid neurotoxin produced by the freshwater cyanophyte _Anabaena_flos- aquae_ (Lyngb.) de Bre’b. clone number NRC-44-1." "Its pharmacological properties have been investigated and compared with that of a synthetic anatoxin-a which was derived from L-cocaine." "Anatoxin-a is a potent depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent possessing both muscarinic and nicotinic activity." Quoting from page 236: "Structurally, anatoxin-a does not resemble decamethonium but instead is similar to the tropane alkaloids, specifically cocaine." Quoting from _Molecular_Pharmacology_, volume 18, "Anatoxin-a: A Novel, Potent Agonist at the Nicotinic Receptor", by Spivak, Witkop, and Albuquerque, 1980, page 391: "The potencies of six nicotinic agonists are compared (Table 2) for their ability to depolarize the frog’s sartorius muscle by 10 mV. Interpolations from data published by other authors are cited to show that _anatoxin-a_is_the_most_potent_of_these_six_agonists_." [Italics in the original.] [An agonist is a molecule that binds to the same receptor. Agonists activate the receptor, while antagonists are non- activating and block the binding of the normal activating molecule, hence inhibit the action of the receptor.] Quoting from _The_Journal_of_Pharmacology_and_ _Experimental_Therapeutics_, volume 259, number 1, "Nicotinic Pharmacology of Anatoxin Analogs. I. Side Chain Structure-Activity Relationships at Peripheral Agonist and Noncompetitive Antagonist Sites", by Swanson, Aronstam, Wonnacott, Rapoport, and Albuquerque, 1991, page 378: "Anatoxin-a analogs with 12 different modifications of the ‘acetyl’ side chain moiety or a site directly influencing the conformation of this moiety were synthesized and evaluated pharmacologically. Fortunately, this extraordinary toxin has a semi-rigid homotropane skeletal structure that restricts the number of stable conformations." Quoting from page 383: "Several modifications of the side chain in anatoxin-a significantly changed the agonistic properties of the neurotoxins at the acetylcholinesterase receptor. No analog thus far tested _in_vitro_ was as potent as the parent compound anatoxin-a." Quoting from _The_Journal_of_Pharmacology_and_ _Experimental_Therapeutics_, volume 259, number 1, "Nicotinic Pharmacology of Anatoxin Analogs. II. Side Chain Structure-Activity Relationships at Neuronal Nicotinic Ligand Binding Sites", by Wonnacott, Jackman, Swanson, Rapoport, and Albuquerque, 1991, pages 390-391: "Such analysis assumes greater urgency with the realization that brain acetylcholinesterase receptors identified by high-affinity tritiated agonist binding are decreased in Alzheimer’s disease (see Kellar and Wonnacott, 1990), and that nicotine treatment has given an encouraging result with respect to cognitive performance in Alzheimer patients (Sahakian _et_al_, 1989, 1990). Thus, centrally acting nicotinic agents could have an important therapeutic future in the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (see Kellar and Wonnacott, 1990). Anatoxin-a is a useful core structure for such drug design because, as a secondary amine, it readily crosses the blood brain barrier." Quoting from _Journal_of_Neurochemistry_, volume 60, number 6, "(+)-Anatoxin-a Is a Potent Agonist at Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors", by Thomas, Stephens, Wilkie, Amar, Lunt, Whiting, Gallagher, Pereira, Alkondon, Albuquerque, and Wonnacott, 1993, page 2308: "In these diverse preparations, (+)-anatoxin-a was between three and 50 times more potent than (-)-nicotine and about 20 times more potent than acetylcholine, making it the most efficacious nicotinic agonist thus far described." And a surprise quote from page 2310: "These studies were supported by grants from the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. . . ." PART III. Where does anatoxin-a come from? Quoting from _Toxicon_, volume 17, "Pharmacology of Anatoxin-a, Produced by the Freshwater Cyanophyte _Anabaena_flos-aquae_ NRC-44-1", by Carmichael, Biggs, and Peterson, 1979, page 229: "Toxic strains of freshwater cyanophytes have been implicated in animal poisonings for many years. _Anabaena_flos-aquae_, _Microcystis_aeruginosa_, and _Aphanizomenon_flos-aquae_ are the most common species responsible with the most recent reviews on the subject written by Moore (1977) and Gentile (1971)." Quoting from _Journal_of_Applied_Phycology_, volume 5, number 6, "Anatoxin-a concentration in _Anabaena_ and _Aphanizomenon_ under different environmental conditions and comparison of growth by toxic and non-toxic _Anabaena_ strains: a laboratory study.", by Rapala, Sivonen, Luukkainen, and Niemela, 1993, page 581: "Anatoxin-a-concentration in cells of _Anabaena_ and _Aphanizomenon_-strains and in their growth media were studied in the laboratory in batch cultures at different temperatures, light fluxes, orthophosphate and nitrate concentrations and with different nitrogen sources for growth." "The amount of toxin in the cells of the toxic … read more »