Verified
“100% California grown spirulina.”
The front panel states '100% California Grown Spirulina' and Earthrise operates its own farm in the Imperial Valley.
Earthrise California Spirulina 500 mg Tablets Review
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8.6/10SAC Product Score™
How the score breaks downHide breakdown
SAC Product Score™ — how it breaks down
- Dose vs Clinical Range25%9.0
- Purity & Contaminant Control25%9.0
- Label Transparency20%9.6
- Certifications & Sourcing15%8.0
- Value15%6.2
The premium pick for people who want to know the phycocyanin number
✓ Buy if…
- You want the phycocyanin content declared, not implied
- You want a US-grown, single-farm spirulina
✗ Skip if…
- You are cost-sensitive; this is the most expensive dose on the list
- You want organic certification
Read the full analysis
✓ Also buy if…
- You prefer a 3 g tablet serving over powder
✗ Also skip if…
- You want a bottle that lasts more than a month
Earthrise farms spirulina in the California desert and is the only brand on this list willing to print the number that matters most for the antioxidant claims: 165 mg of c-phycocyanin per six-tablet, 3 g serving. The panel also declares 1.5 mg iron, 2 g protein and 20 mg sodium, with Non-GMO and kosher seals. The catch is the bottle size: the 180-tablet listing is 30 servings, so the per-dose cost is the highest here.
How we built the SAC Product Score™ — 8.6/10
Dose vs Clinical Range25%9/10
Serving Size 6 Tablets (3 g) matches the studied daily amount in one serving.
Purity & Contaminant Control25%9/10
Single California farm with controlled ponds; the panel is clean of Prop 65 warnings, though no third-party testing claim is printed on the pack.
Label Transparency20%9.6/10
The only panel here that declares c-phycocyanin (165 mg) alongside 1.5 mg iron, 2 g protein and 20 mg sodium per serving.
Certifications & Sourcing15%8/10
Non-GMO and KSA kosher seals plus 'California Grown' on the label; no USDA Organic mark.
Value15%6.2/10
Roughly $0.64 per 3 g serving because the 180-tablet bottle holds only 30 servings; the most expensive dose in the group.
The product at a glance
- Form
- Tablet, 500 mg each
- Serving
- 6 tablets (3 g)
- Count
- 180 tablets (30 servings)
- Disclosed per serving
- 165 mg c-phycocyanin, 2 g protein, 1.5 mg iron, 20 mg sodium
- Other ingredients
- Vegetable stearate, silica
- Seals
- Non-GMO, kosher (KSA), California Grown
- Cost per dose
- ~$0.64 per 3 g serving
Marketing claims vs. reality
Verified
“Rich in phycocyanin.”
Unlike every competitor here the panel quantifies it: 165 mg c-phycocyanin per 3 g serving.
Verified
“One month supply.”
180 tablets at the printed 6-tablet serving is 30 servings, exactly one month at one serving a day.
What our test actually found
01It is the only label that quantifies the active pigment
Phycocyanin is the compound most of the spirulina antioxidant literature revolves around, and Earthrise prints 165 mg per serving. Every other product on this list leaves you to assume.
02The bottle, not the algae, is the weak point
At 30 servings per bottle you re-order monthly and pay the highest per-dose price here. Earthrise also sells a larger bottle, which is the better buy if you stay with the brand.
Pros & cons, no sugar-coating
Pros
- Only product declaring c-phycocyanin content
- Full 3 g serving from a single California farm
- Iron, protein and sodium disclosed
- Non-GMO and kosher seals on the panel
Cons
- Highest cost per dose on the list
- Not organic certified
- No third-party testing statement printed on the pack
Buy it for the number nobody else prints
If you take spirulina for its phycocyanin, Earthrise is the only brand that tells you how much you are getting. It matches Nutrex on dose and origin quality and beats it on disclosure; it loses on price and on the absence of a printed testing claim. A premium, honest tablet.
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If this doesn’t fit — try these
Nutrex Hawaii Pure Hawaiian Spirulina
8.8/10Hawaiian-pond spirulina that hits the full 3 g trial dose in one six-tablet serving, declares its iron and protein, and carries the longest seal list on the list.
See it on the list →Anthony's California Spirulina Powder
8.5/10A California-grown powder with a full food-style Nutrition Facts panel, 3 g per teaspoon, batch-tested gluten-free, at about a quarter per dose.
See it on the list →NOW Organic Spirulina 1,000 mg
8.4/10A QAI-certified organic 1,000 mg tablet with no excipients at all, from a brand with in-house testing labs; three tablets reach the trial dose for about a third of a dollar.
See it on the list →Sources & further reading
- Karkos PD, et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:531053.Karkos PD, Leong SC, Karkos CD, Sivaji N, Assimakopoulos DA · 2011 · Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · PMID 18955364
Spirulina in clinical practice: evidence-based human applications
A review of human studies concluded spirulina has the most consistent evidence for lipid-lowering and allergic-rhinitis symptom relief, with immune-marker effects that are promising but drawn from small trials.
- Kalafati M, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010;42(1):142-51.Kalafati M, Jamurtas AZ, Nikolaidis MG, et al. · 2010 · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · PMID 20010119
Ergogenic and antioxidant effects of spirulina supplementation in humans
Four weeks of 6 g spirulina a day in trained men increased time to fatigue and fat oxidation during a two-hour run and raised blood glutathione, in a crossover placebo-controlled design.