Don't know; PubMed shows nothing of interest for BMAA AND bacteria.

But the report you are referring to is probably about the situation in
Guam. The amount of BMAA in the bacteria grown alone is quite low; the
problem comes from it being concentrated in the food chain. The level
of BMAA in the flying foxes, which is what the people eat, is 10,000
times higher than in free-living bacteria.

Spirulina is expensive enough that I assume you consume only small
amounts. It is unlikely to have any effect, pro or con. If you like
the taste, enjoy.

bob

No one has found any BMAA in Spirulina used for food or supplement.
You may want to read about it at http://www.earthrise.com/whatsnew.asp

New study shows Spirulina protects the brain from damage

http://www.hsc.usf.edu/news+releases+-+april+12,+2005.html
Media contacts: Anne DeLotto Baier or Lissette Campos, USF Health Sciences
Public Affairs, (813)974-3300
Carolyn Clark, James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, (813)979-3645

Editor's note: Digital photo of neuroscientist Paula Bickford holding
platter of fruits and vegetables available upon request.
Antioxidant-rich diets reduce brain damage from stroke, new preclinical
study suggests

Tampa, FL (April 12, 2005) -- Your mother was right. Eat your fruits and
veggies -- they're good for you!
And if that's not reason enough, a new study suggests antioxidant-rich
fruits and vegetables may limit brain damage from stroke and other
neurological disorders. The study, conducted by researchers at the
University of South Florida College of Medicine, James A. Haley Veterans'
Hospital and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is posted online and
will be published in the May issue of the journal Experimental Neurology.
USF/VA neuroscientist Paula Bickford, PhD, and colleagues found that rats
fed diets preventatively enriched with blueberries, spinach or an algae
known as spirulina experienced less brain cell loss and improved recovery
of movement following a stroke.
The study builds upon previous USF/VA research showing that diets enriched
with blueberries, spinach or spirulina reversed normal age-related declines
in memory and learning in old rats.
"I was amazed at the extent of neuroprotection these antioxidant-rich diets
provided," said Dr. Bickford, a researcher at the USF Center for Aging and
Brain Repair and James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital. "The size of the stroke
was 50 to 75 percent less in rats treated with diets supplemented with
blueberries, spinach or spirulina before the stroke."
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances in these fruits and vegetables
may somehow reduce the nerve cell injury and death triggered by a stroke,
the researchers suggest. "The clinical implication is that increasing fruit
and vegetable consumption may make a difference in the severity of a
stroke," Dr. Bickford said. "It could be a readily available, inexpensive
and relatively safe way to benefit stroke patients."
The researchers studied four groups of rats, all fed equal amounts of food
for one month. One group was fed rat chow supplemented with blueberries, a
second group chow with spinach, and the third chow with spirulina. The
control (untreated) group ate chow only.
After four weeks, an ischemic stroke with reperfusion was induced in the
rats. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot cuts off the oxygen
supply to the brain like the kink in a hose cuts off water flow. Then,
later, the clot is released and blood flow returns, which is known as
reperfusion.
The size of the stroke in the rats fed blueberry or spinach supplements was
half that seen in the brains of untreated rats. Rats fed spirulina-enriched
diets had stroke lesions 75 percent smaller than their untreated
counterparts. In addition, rats pretreated with the blueberry, spinach or
spirulina diets showed greater increases in poststroke movement than the
control group.
All the supplemented diets were rich in antioxidants, which scientists say
may counteract the burst of free radicals involved in the cascade of brain
cell death triggered by an ischemic stroke. An excess of free radicals can
damage cellular lipids, proteins and DNA.
The supplemented diets also contained anti-inflammatory substances that may
help reduce inflammation-induced injury following a stroke, Dr. Bickford
said. When a stroke occurs, immune cells in the brain mount an inflammatory
response – rushing to the site of injury to clear away the dead and dying
cells. As a result, nearby healthy nerve cells may suffer collateral damage
much the same way firefighters breaking into an apartment to put out a fire
in one room may inadvertently cause damage to other rooms.
Teasing out just which beneficial chemicals contained in the blueberries
and leafy greens might be reproduced therapeutically in pill form is
difficult, Dr. Bickford said. "Whole foods contain multiple nutrients, so
there are many different ways these diets could be protecting the brain.
From a scientific perspective, it's a package deal."
Dr. Bickford's team is investigating whether rats treated with antioxidant-
rich diets following strokes will experience improved recovery. The
researchers also plan to study whether combinations of the diets might
provide even greater protection against stroke damage than one diet alone.
The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
and the Veterans Administration.
- USF -

Responding to demand from Tampa's community leaders, the University of
South Florida College of Medicine was established by the Florida
Legislature in 1965. Part of the USF Health Sciences Center, doctors and
researchers were awarded $116.6 million in grants and contracts last year.
Providing advanced medical care, USF Physicians Group at the College of
Medicine is the largest doctor group in West Central Florida offering
expert medical care throughout Tampa Bay's finest hospitals such as Tampa
General Hospital, James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center
and All Children's Hospital.

What about the other two green algae in "Green Magic"?
Chlorella, and Dunaliella