Fighting Crohn’s with algae -- can algae heal the gut?

The first week of December marks Crohn's & Colitis Awareness Week. Since 1990 cases of Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have nearly doubled. It has risen fastest among those aged 15-39. IBD is a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract and includes both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD patients face intense abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea, fatigue or bleeding — symptoms that have a major impact on their quality of life.  

“We have lots of therapies for IBD,” said Dr. Federica Ungaro, Group Leader Experimental Gastroenterology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan. “But the problem is that many patients cannot respond to this treatment or in some cases, develop resistance. The inflammation persists and it becomes chronic.” 

Since 2021 the EU-funded Algae4IBD project has been studying algae – both microalgae and seaweeds – as a natural source of compounds that could help reduce inflammation, support gut health, and combat microbial imbalances linked to IBD.    

“The project is about how to use the biodiversity of micro and macroalgae for its nutritional and health benefits to try to reduce inflammation, pain and inflammatory bowel disease,” said Dr. Dorit Avni of MIGAL Galilee Research Institute and the project’s coordinator. 

The researchers turned to advanced indoor cultivation systems with tight environmental controls, among other things, to deliver consistent bioactive compounds. 

“For producing something for the pharmaceutical industry, it's really important that you have consistency and you know that the same concentration and the same conditions will give you the same results,” said Dr. Amikam Bar-Gil, co-founder and CTO of the former biotech company Yemoja Ltd, which is a partner in the project.     

First, they screened more than 1,000 algae strains. Roughly 150 showed promise and were then tested in laboratories on inflamed human cells and bacterial cultures.  

In Milan, 55 IBD patients underwent endoscopy to provide biopsies for the lab test. These tissues were then cultured and exposed to algae extracts to assess whether inflammation could be dialled down.  

“The algae derived compounds can exert anti-inflammatory properties,” said Dr. Ungaro, who adds that the compounds are tolerated well by the human body. Since they can be used as an alternative therapy for IBD, the researchers want to understand exactly what extract from the algae compound has this effect. This can then be used to develop new pharmacological treatments or nutritional food to support therapies in IBD patients.  

Industrial partners in France and Ireland began formulating the bioactive compounds into functional foods like gummies, baked goods, and yogurts to support patients nutritionally.  

“We are mainly looking at the anti-inflammatory activity of our extract, but also looking at the antibacterial, probiotic and prebiotic effects of the extract and also the antioxidant activity,” said Dr. Benoit Queguineur of Algaia. “If we can manage to combine all of this, we will have some kind of superfood.” Exactly this is being done at Teagasc in Ireland, where researchers develop functional food that is both healthy, safe and delicious.  

While research is still ongoing, the work of Algae4IBD brings a promising perspective to the future of IBD treatment. By combining natural compounds, advanced cultivation, and patient-centred testing, scientists are one step closer to new therapeutic options.  

The aim is twofold: to identify promising compounds for specialised pharmaceutical treatments for patients with IBD and secondly, to develop functional food products that could one day be sold in regular stores to promote gut health.