Re: Depression a Detox Symptom?

These are quite severe accusations against the producers of Lake Klamath algaes.

I have completely contradictory informations which appear to be reliable, but I am sure you have evidence to substantiate these allegations and would like to ask you to share these.

Actually I have been studying this garbage since it came on the market about 15 years ago. And I did not get the information from sales sites. I do have a write up on the subject giving more details including information on the group trying to figure out how to clean the lake up. If I can find the file I will post it. In the meantime what credible contradictory information do you have?

Am I wrong about algae not being able to grow in a pristine lake? What do algae feed on in a pristine lake to make the blooms?

Have you researched A. flos-aquae and microcystins and anatoxins?

What exactly do you think I am wrong about?

You need to research non-sales sites like this one:

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lab/wqm/wqindex/klamath3.htm

Oregon Water Quality Index Report for Klamath Basin

"Water quality is commonly impacted by the introduction of organic matter to streams. The presence of organic matter increases biochemical oxygen demand, which means less dissolved oxygen is available for aquatic life. The introduction of untreated animal or human waste increases the possibility of bacterial contamination of water, increasing the risk of infection to swimmers. Eutrophication is the process of enrichment of water with nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorous compounds, which results in excessive growth of algae and nuisance aquatic plants. It increases the amount of organic matter in the water and also increases pollution as this matter grows and then decays. Employing the process of photosynthesis for growth, algae and aquatic plants consume carbon dioxide (thus raising pH) and produce an overabundance of oxygen. At night the algae and plants respire, depleting available dissolved oxygen. This results in large variations in water quality conditions that can be harmful to other aquatic life. While natural sources of nutrients can influence eutrophication, the introduction of nutrients strengthens the process. Sources of nutrients include wastewater treatment facility discharge and faulty septic systems, runoff from animal husbandry, fertilizer application, urban sources, and erosion. High water temperatures compound the decline in water quality by causing more oxygen to leave the water and by increasing the rate of eutrophication. Removal of streamside vegetation, among other factors, influences high stream temperature and, via erosion, increases sedimentation of streams."

http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/forefront/spring2003/horne.html

"While Upper Klamath Lake covers 70,000 acres, its average depth ranges a mere six to ten feet. Since fish kills have occurred there when the water level was above and below average, Horne sees no clear relationship between lake levels and lethal conditions.

Horne suspects another culprit. "When fish die like that, it means they've run out of oxygen," says Horne. That's not a problem for fish in deep, clear lakes like Lake Tahoe, he says, but Upper Klamath quickly accumulates nutrients from surrounding farms that promote water-clouding blooms of blue-green algae — cyanobacteria. These abundant microbes breathe day and night, competing with fish for oxygen.

Horne believes that the fish in Upper Klamath benefit from frequent nocturnal convective mixing that stirs oxygen-laden surface water down to the bottom, until calm, cloudy summer evenings come along and curtail the nightly mixing. When wind does return, the now stagnant deep water infiltrates the water column along with toxic hydrogen sulfide gas that builds up in the lakebed when oxygen is absent. "It's like mixing a foul brew," says Horne, "and that’s what causes the fish kills."

 

http://www.nanfa.org/NANFAregions/or_wa/klamath/klamath.htm

"Water quality degradation in the Upper Klamath Lake watershed has led to large-scale fish kills related to algal bloom cycles in the lake. This has probably always been a problem, even prior to farming and ranching in the area. The source of the lake's nutrients was the basin's volcanic soils. Heavy spring runoffs increased sediment loads in the lake and wind blowing across its broad surface created water quality problems by stirring up the sediments that had settled to the bottom. Meek described the lake in 1896 as "very shallow, and the vast amounts of decaying vegetation carried into it and the ever-increasing area of tule lands render it more shallow year by year. The bottom, where we examined it, was composed of loose, disintegrating vegetable material, with no sandy or gravelly bottom." Many people believe that the lake's demise has been accelerated by farming and ranching practices. Studies which examined return flows from pastures along the heavily ranched Wood River Valley revealed phosphorous levels seven to ten times higher than the river's water. Jake Kann, the aquatic ecologist for the Klamath Tribes who performed the study, explained that a cow will produce seven to ten times as much phosphorous as a human. Kann concluded that with Wood River Valley cattle populations somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000, it is the equivalent of having a town with 350,000 people without sewage treatment living along the river.

The nutrient loading in the lake produces immense blue-green algae blooms. Although the lake's algae provides companies like Cell-Tech, of Klamath Falls, with the source for its dietary supplement product and about 540 people with jobs, the lake simply produces far more than can be harvested. When the algae dies, the decaying plant matter decreases the lake's dissolved oxygen and elevates pH levels to 10.0 in some areas. Both of these conditions are lethal to the Lost River and shortnose suc***s. "

In reference to toxins in Aphanizomenon algaes:

http://www.esf.edu/merhab/toxins.asp

 

Anatoxin-a

Species	Location
Anabaena flos-aquae	Canada
Anabaena spp.	Finland
Anabaena blooms	Germany
Anabaena sp.	Ireland
Anabaena sp.	Japan
Anabaena planctonica bloom	Italy
Aphanizomenon sp.	Finland
Aphanizomenon blooms	Germany
Aphanizomenon sp.	Finland
Cylindrospermum sp.	Finland
Microcystis sp.	Japan
Oscillatoria sp. benthic	Scotland
Oscillatoria sp. ?	Ireland
Planktothrix sp.	Finland

Anatoxin-a is a low molecular weight alkaloid (MW = 165), a secondary amine, 2-acetyl- 9-azabicyclo(4-2-1)non-2-ene (Devlin et al., 1977). Anatoxin-a is produced by Anabaena flos-aquae, Anabaena spp. (flos-aquae-lemmermannii group), Anabaena planktonica, Oscillatoria, Aphanizomenon and Cylindrospermum. Homoanatoxin-a (MW = 179) is an anatoxin-a homologue isolated from an Oscillatoria formosa (Phormidium formosum) strain. It has a propionyl group at C-2 instead of the acetyl group in anatoxin-a (Skulberg et al., 1992). The LD50 (lethal dose resulting in 50 per cent deaths) of anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a are 200 - 250 µg kg-1 bw (Devlin et al., 1977; Carmichael et al., 1990; Skulberg et al., 1992).

 

 

Saxitoxins are a group of carbamate alkaloid neurotoxins which are either non-sulphated (saxitoxins - STX), singly sulphated (gonyautoxins - GTX) or doubly sulphated (C-toxins) . In addition, decarbamoyl variants and several new toxins have been identified in some species.

Species	Location
Anabaena circinalis	Australia
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae	USA
Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii	Brazil
Lyngbya wollei	USA

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10499991

 

Risk assessment of microcystin in dietary Aphanizomenon flos-aquae.

 

"Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, a cyanobacterium that is marketed as a health food supplement, is harvested from natural blooms in Klamath Lake (Oregon) that are occasionally contaminated by Microcystis spp. Regulatory agencies in several countries are developing regulations to control the amount of microcystin in drinking water and other products, including products produced from A. flos-aquae. Regulation of microcystin (MC), a toxin produced by Microcystis spp. that is potentially present in natural culture of A. flos-aquae, should be based on studies in which a test species is exposed to the natural mixture of these cyanobacteria. A 1984 feeding trial to determine the effects of high dietary levels of A. flos-aquae on reproduction and development of mice is reanalyzed in light of recent analyses for microcystin-LR (MCLR) in the diets of those mice. Young adult mice consuming up to 333 microg MCLR/kg body weight (bw)/day exhibited no adverse effects on growth and reproduction, fetal development, and survival and organ weights of neonates. Based on a NOAEL of 333 microg MCLR/kg bw/day, a safety factor of 1000, consumption of 2 g/day of A. flos-aquae by a 60-kg adult, the safe level of MCLR as a contaminant of A. flos-aquae products is calculated to be 10.0 microg MCLR/g."

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V73-44R2MW0-2&...

Seasonal variation of microcystin concentrations in the Saint-Caprais reservoir (France) and their removal in a small full-scale treatment plant

"Abstract

At the Saint-Caprais reservoir (France), a mono-specific bloom of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae occurs every year in the autumn months. Levels of microcystin-LR (MCYST-LR) in this reservoir were evaluated by protein phosphatase type 2A (PP2A) inhibition test as MCYST-LR equivalents in both raw and drinking water.

Analysis by HPLC of the crude extract of the mono-specific bloom of A. flos-aquae revealed the presence of MCYST-LR with a low concentration of 270.3±20.4 ng/g wet weight. MCYST-LR equivalent concentrations in raw water were correlated with the cyanobacteria biomass and they varied between 14 and 74 ng/l. The removal of A. flos-aquae and microcystins were evaluated in a small full-scale plant associated with the Saint-Caprais reservoir. Total elimination of cyanobacterial cells and the low concentration of hepatotoxins was achieved through the combined action of pre-ozonation at 0.07 mg/l and adsorption on powdered activated carbon at 20 mg/l. However, pre-chlorination at 0.42 mg/l followed by 20 mg/l of powdered activated carbon removed only 45% of hepatotoxins."

In the above abstract the word "hepatotoxins" means liver toxins.

 

http://www.dfg.de/aktuelles_presse/reden_stellungnahmen/2007/download/sklm_mi...

Microcystins in algae products used as food supplements

 

http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index.php?mode2=detail&origin=ibids_refe...

Assessing potential health risks from microcystin toxins in blue-green algae dietary supplements.

"Many of these products contain Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, a BGA that is harvested from Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) in southern Oregon, where the growth of a toxic BGA, Microcystis aeruginosa, is a regular occurrence. M. aeruginosa produces compounds called microcystins, which are potent hepatotoxins and probable tumor promoters. Because M. aeruginosa coexists with A. flos-aquae, it can be collected inadvertently during the harvesting process, resulting in microcystin contamination of BGA products. In fall 1996, the Oregon Health Division learned that UKL was experiencing an extensive M. aeruginosa bloom, and an advisory was issued recommending against water contact. The advisory prompted calls from consumers of BGA products, who expressed concern about possible contamination of these products with microcystins. In response, the Oregon Health Division and the Oregon Department of Agriculture established a regulatory limit of 1 microg/g for microcystins in BGA-containing products and tested BGA products for the presence of microcystins. Microcystins were detected in 85 of 87 samples tested, with 63 samples (72%) containing concentrations greater than 1 microg/g. HPLC and ELISA tentatively identified microcystin-LR, the most toxic microcystin variant, as the predominant congener."

 

You should also read this:

http://www.tldp.com/issue/167/algae.html

Why Blue Green Algae Makes Me Tired

Again, if you have reliable (non-sales site) evidence to the contrary then I would love to see it. Otherwise I stick by my original statements.

 

 

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