Table 3.
Changes in mineral status during the supplementation in the spirulina and placebo groups
| Analyzed parameters | Baseline | After 3 months | ANOVA | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirulina group (n = 25) | Placebo group (n = 25) | Spirulina group (n = 25) | Placebo group (n = 25) | Treatment P value | Time | Interaction | ||
| Intention-to-treat population, n = 50 | ||||||||
| Ca (mmo/L) | Mean ± SD | 3.41 ± 0.27 | 3.25 ± 0.20 | 3.55 ± 0.32 | 3.31 ± 0.33 | 0.202 | 0.106 | 0.122 |
| Median | 3.43 | 3.27 | 3.53 | 3.29 | ||||
| Mg (mmol/L) | Mean ± SD | 0.75 ± 0.07 | 0.80 ± 0.11 | 0.75 ± 0.10 | 0.78 ± 0.09 | 0.288 | 0.203 | 0.102 |
| Median | 0.74 | 0.78 | 0.75 | 0.79 | ||||
| Fe (μmol/L) | Mean ± SD | 16.63 ± 3.75 | 15.84 ± 2.55 | 12.98 ± 2.75 | 16.11 ± 3.12 | 0.008 | 0.008 | 0.001 |
| Median | 16.58 | 15.90 | 13.75 | 15.98 | ||||
| Zn (μmol/L) | Mean ± SD | 10.03 ± 3.54 | 10.71 ± 2.50 | 9.78 ± 2.14 | 10.92 ± 1.81 | 0.517 | 0.105 | 0.418 |
| Median | 9.09 | 9.30 | 9.36 | 9.38 | ||||
Data are arithmetic mean ± SD
SD standard deviation, NS not significant
Italic values indicate ANOVA test, significant differences at P < .05