all of the human studies described below employed capsules containing dunaliella powder prepared as follows . dunaliella bardawil ( hereinafter “ db ”) was grown and cultivated in large body open salt water ponds of 50 , 000 m 2 to obtain algae comprising approximately 8 % by weight of β - carotene ( hereinafter “ bc ”) at an approximately 1 : 1 ( by weight ) ratio of 9 - cis and all - trans isomers of bc , or greater than 1 : 1 ratio of 9 - cis and all - trans isomers of bc . the algae were harvested by dislodging centrifuges into a concentrated paste . the paste was washed to remove the salt and sterilized , and then spray dried to yield db powder comprising approximately 8 % bc and less than 5 % moisture . the powder was packaged in capsules of 250 - 300 mg algae containing 15 - 20 mg of bc each together with all of the natural components of the algae . the bc of the capsules retains the original ratio of isomers . the capsules are packaged in vacuum closed blisters which have a shelf life of up to three years . the study was randomized , double - blind , and vehicle - controlled . eligible patients were 18 years of age or older with stable , active plaque psoriasis involving 10 % body surface area ( bsa ) or less . exclusion criteria were : serious or unstable medical or psychological condition , active liver or renal disease , smoking , history of alcohol or drug abuse within the past one year , pregnancy , or planning on becoming pregnant . concomitant topical therapy , phototherapy or systemic therapy for psoriasis was prohibited throughout the study , with the exception of emollients . patients , investigators , and all study staff were blinded to treatment assignments . patients were randomly assigned into two groups : 22 subjects were treated with dunaliella capsules and 11 subjects ( control ) were treated with capsules containing starch powder , as the placebo . treatment dosage was four capsules of the alga d . bardawil ( nikken sohonsha corporation , gifu , japan ), two capsules after breakfast and two after dinner . each capsule contained 15 - 20 mg β - carotene with a ratio of 9 - cis β - carotene to all - trans β - carotene of about 1 : 1 . an institutional review board or ethics committee approved the study protocol . written informed consent was obtained from patients before the start of any study related procedure . as a measure of the clinical response , ( psoriasis area and severity index ) pasi scores were given by an investigator blinded to the treatment assignment at baseline , after 6 weeks and at completion of the study ( 12 weeks ). as a marker of inflammation , the acute phase protein c - reactive protein ( crp ) was measured using a commercial kit by autoanalyzer ( olympus ). digital photographing of the lesions was carried out by the same schedule . a dermatology life quality index ( dlqi ) questionnaire was used to evaluate the quality of life of patients at 0 , 6 and 12 weeks . at the pre - study visit , the medical history was recorded and a physical examination , including vital parameters ( e . g . blood pressure , pulse , weight , and temperature ), was completed . a blood sample was taken for analysis of complete blood cell counts , liver and renal functions , fasting lipid analysis , 9 - cis β - carotene , and all - trans β - carotene at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks . patients &# 39 ; dietary intakes were assessed by the 24 h recall method delivered by an experienced nurse , directed by a clinical dietitian , on 3 days during the 12 week period , 2 days in the middle of the week and 1 day on the weekend . the data was analyzed for nutrient content by the nutrition data system of the international center of health and nutrition at ben - gurion university , beer - sheba , israel . paired t - test or wilkoxon signed ranked test for non - parametric variables were used to compare the results of the human group before and after the dunaliella administration . pearson &# 39 ; s correlation test was used to detect the link between variables . statistical tests were all two - sided . p & lt ; 0 . 05 was accepted as statistically significant . 33 patients were recruited . 7 patients did not attend treatment sessions regularly or failed to comply with the study requirements and were excluded from evaluation . 26 patients completed the study ; of these , 15 had received treatment with dunaliella and 11 with control , placebo pills . the characteristics of the two patient cohorts are given in table i . the treatment groups were similar in demographic and disease characteristics at baseline . all participants who completed the trial were at least 85 % compliant with the treatment regimen as determined by patient interview and pill counts . the results are summarized in fig1 and 2 . after six weeks of twice - daily treatment , pasi scores were significantly reduced from baseline in patient group treated with dunaliella , whereas the control group did not reach significance ( p = 0 . 04 vs . p = 0 . 6 , respectively ). similar results were obtained after 12 weeks of treatment ( p = 0 . 004 vs . p = 0 . 07 , respectively ). the number of patients reached pasi 50 % after 12 weeks of treatment was 80 % in dunaliella group and 45 % in control group . the number of patients reached pasi 75 % after 12 weeks of treatment was 40 % in dunaliella group and 27 % in control group . in order to evaluate dunaliella effect on the patient &# 39 ; s quality of life , dlqi assay was performed . the results are summarized in fig3 . the mean change from baseline to week 6 and 12 was 12 and 27 . 6 ( p = 0 . 009 for 12 weeks ) in the dunaliella group , respectively . in the control group the mean change was 5 . 9 and − 21 . 9 ( p = 0 . 93 for 12 weeks ), respectively . as a surrogate marker for inflammation , crp levels were analyzed at the baseline and at weeks 6 and 12 . significant reduction in crp was found in the dunaliella group but not in the control group . thus , the treatment with dunaliella resulted in a significant improvement in the psoriasis patients . there were no treatment - related adverse events in the overall study . in the dunaliella group , one patient had a myocardial infarction during percutanerous transluminal coronary angioplasty leading to an emergency coronary artery bypass . in the control group , one patient had syncope , without a known cause . two patients in the dunaliella group reported accelerated hair growth and darkening of hair .
the invention is a method for treating psoriasis in a subject suffering from psoriasis . the method includes orally administering to the subject a pharmaceutically - effective amount of crude dunaliella powder .