Edible algae based vaccination is a vaccination strategy under preliminary research to combine a genetically engineered sub-unit vaccine and an immunologic adjuvant into Chlamydomonas reinhardtii microalgae. Microalgae can be freeze-dried and administered orally.Specht 2014, p.1 While spirulina is accepted as safe to consume,FDA 2002 edible algal vaccines remain under basic research with unconfirmed safety and efficacy as of 2018.Specht 2014, p.3
In 2003, the first documented algal-based vaccine antigen was reported, consisting of a foot-and-mouth disease antigen complexed with the cholera toxin subunit B, which delivered the antigen to digestion mucosal surfaces in mice. The vaccine was grown in C. reinhardtii algae and provided oral vaccination in mice, but was hindered by low vaccine antigen expression levels.Specht 2014, p.2
Proteins expressed inside the chloroplast of algae (the most common site of genetic engineering and protein production) do not undergo glycosylation, a form of posttranslational modification. Glycosylation of proteins that are not naturally modified like the malaria vaccine candidate pfs25 can occur in common expression systems like yeast.Gregory 2012, p.1
Notes
References U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2002) GRAS Notification for Spirulina Microalgae