JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A new natural product clinical trial is underway at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, and researchers are urgently recruiting participants.

Dr. Gailen Marshall, the R. Faser Triplett Sr. MD Chair of Allergy and Immunology, is principal investigator of the UMMC arm of the double-blind study he designed in collaboration with the National Center for Natural Products Research, part of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi.

The study is funded by a $5.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Immulina, patented by Ole Miss and already available for purchase, is an extract of the spirulina, a blue-green alga that became popular after NASA astronauts used it as a dietary supplement on space missions. Based on several studies, it can boost the immune system and reduce inflammation by preventing the release of a histamine.

To volunteer, you must be at least 18 with no recent changes in your health and no active autoimmune disease.

Volunteers will undergo an initial screening that consists of a questionnaire, and if deemed eligible, receive either Immulina or placebo capsules to take twice a day. Participants must consent to 12 visits over a 20-week period. At each visit, researchers will draw three tablespoons of blood to measure specific cells of the immune system.

Volunteers given the Immulina tablets will receive one of three dosages: 200, 400 or 800 milligrams.

After each visit, volunteers will receive $25, for a total of $300. All visits will take place in the Clinical Research and Trials Unit on 7 South of the adult hospital.

Marshall wants to enroll 472 volunteers, who can begin the process by emailing ImmulinaFlu@umc.edu.