Blue-Green Algae Supplements Show Promise in Cutting Cholesterol

Blue-green algae taken as a nutritional supplement can lower cholesterol in mice, and controlled studies have recently begun in humans, according to Dr. Christian Drapeau of Cell Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore. He told the chemists in Anaheim that the algae, commonly called AFA in health food stores, contains significant amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce cholesterol. But it also contains other chemicals that reduce cholesterol through a different mechanism, Drapeau said.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II