Carragelose® is iota-carrageenan, a polymer derived from red algae. It forms a protective barrier on mucosal surfaces, thereby blocking various external influences, such as viruses or allergens and providing a moistuirizing film. Carragelose® may help to prevent and treat viral respiratory infections, may alleviate nasal symptoms of allergic rhinitis and may provide relief for dry and irritated eyes.
Carragelose® may help to prevent and treat viral respiratory infections, may alleviate nasal symptoms of allergic rhinitis and may provide relief for dry and irritated eyes.
Currently, there are nasal sprays, throat sprays and lozenges available. Learn more our Carragelose® products here.
Carragelose®-containing products are available in several European and non-European countries. Learn more about launched products here.
Several times a day, depending on your individual requirements; overdosing is not possible.
No, all products are preservative-free. The nasal sprays are supplied in a spray bottle that prevents the contamination of the product from microbes in the respiratory tract.
In case of known hypersensitivity to any component of the products. Please refer to the instructions for use for more information.
Yes, the products may be used during pregnancy and lactation.
The nasal spray products are suitable for children from an age of one year, the lozenges are suitable for children from the age of six years. There are products specifically tailored for children available in many markets which deliver a smaller volume from a spray device specifically fitted for smaller noses.
No, the products are not addictive, nor can they cause any withdrawal symptoms. Also the formulation does not cause fatigue.
Yes, several large scale clinical trials involving close to 600 adult and pediatric patients were conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the nasal spray. The nasal spray appeared as an effective treatment of common cold in these trials. Find here our scientific publications.
Comparable to viruses causing flu-like illnesses, the non-specific virus-trapping effectiveness of Carragelose® has also been shown in cell culture tests for SARS-CoV-2. Even if the products cannot prevent completely an infection by SARS-CoV-2, they may strongly reduce the risk of an infection and virus spread. Find here our scientific publications.
Iodine can be high in seaweed, especially brown seaweed. However, the process to extract the carrageenan involves a lot of water and chemicals, resulting in very low levels in the final product (iota-carrageenan). Iodine does not bind to carrageenan in any way. Analyses showed that the levels are in the order of detection limits with <10 ppm. This means that 1 mg carrageenan contains less than 10 ng iodine. In case of the nasal spray containing 1.2 mg/ml Carragelose®, the amount of iodine would be max. 13.4 ng per day if used 4 times daily. The iodine content in the nasal spray containing a combination of 1.2 mg/ml Carragelose® and 0.4 mg/ml kappa-carrageenan would be max. 18 ng per day. The daily recommended dose of the lozenges (6 pcs) contains a maximum of 600 ng iodine.
Carragelose® is tested for mercury before it is processed in the finished products. The maximum allowed amount is 1 ng of mercury per mg of Carragelose®. This means that the maximum possible amount of mercury in the Carragelose® lozenges is 10 ng per lozenge. In the nasal sprays or throat sprays, the Carragelose® content is around 1.3 mg/day if used 4 times daily and thus the maximum mercury content is 1.3 ng/day. The PWTI value (provisional tolerable weekly intake) is currently 300 µg/week (1 µg = 1.000 ng) and includes all possible sources through which mercury can be absorbed. This includes drinking water, food, air and above all amalgam. The currently applicable limit for the absorption of organic mercury is 1.6 micrograms per kilogram of body weight and week (= 13 micrograms per day for a person weighing 60 kg). Six lozenges a day equal a maximum intake of 60 ng mercury, 200 times less than the limit value. In case of the nasal spray, the intake is almost 10,000 times less than the limit value. Marinomed also had Carragelose® tested at the Fraunhofer Institute for the presence of mercury (and other metals) using optical emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP OES) and mercury could not be detected in the samples. Overall, the risk of absorbing mercury through Carragelose® is extremely low.
There have been reports that carrageenan may induce IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) or colon cancer, mainly based on experiments with rats that have been fed with a diet containing very high concentrations of degraded carrageenan. Carrageenan is used in three different subtypes: iota, kappa, and lambda carrageenan that differ in their structure with respect to the number of sulfate groups. While lambda carrageenan has been shown to have pro-inflammatory properties, iota and kappa carrageenan have not such a potential. The raw material for the Carragelose® products is tested for the presence of lambda-carrageenan and also the size of the polymer is tested. Carragelose® (iota-carrageenan) is free of lambda-carrageenan and has a mean size of more than 1 million Dalton (very large) and it is also free of degraded components. Taken together, the use of Carragelose® products poses no risk of developing IBD or colon cancer as they are devoid of lambda-carrageenan and degraded carrageenan. In addition, the daily intake is magnitudes lower compared to the maximum daily intake. The maximum daily intake of carrageenan has been set to 75 mg/kg/day for humans (4,500 mg/day in case of 60 kg body weight) and is much higher compared to the amount of carrageenan in Carragelose® products even if they are extensively used. The nasal spray contains 1.2 mg/ml iota-carrageenan and a use of 4 times daily results in 1.34 mg/day, six lozenges would result in 60 mg iota-carrageenan.