Editing Azolla (section)

===Food and animal feed===
In addition to its traditional cultivation as a bio-fertilizer for wetland paddies, ''Azolla'' is finding increasing use for sustainable production of [[livestock feed]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author1=Pillai, P. Kamalasanana |author2=Premalatha, S. |author3=Rajamony, S. |title=Azolla – a sustainable feed substitute for livestock |magazine=[[Farming Matters]] magazine |department=Small animals in focus |series=Azolla livestock feed |url=http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/global/small-animals-in-focus/azolla-livestock-feed |access-date=2008-01-14}}</ref> ''Azolla'' is rich in protein, essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Studies describe feeding ''Azolla'' to [[dairy cattle]], pigs, ducks, and chickens, with reported increases in [[Dairy|milk production]], weight of broiler chickens and egg production of layers, as compared to conventional feed. One [[FAO]] study describes how ''Azolla'' integrates into a tropical biomass agricultural system, reducing the need for food supplements.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Preston, T.R. |author2=Murgueitio, E. |year=1992–1993 |title=Sustainable intensive livestock systems for the humid tropics |journal=World Animal Review |series=Sustainable animal production |volume=71 |issn=1014-6954 |publisher=[[UN]] [[FAO]] |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/u7600t/u7600T04.htm |access-date=2011-09-28}}</ref> 

==== Concerns related to BMAA ====
Concerns about [[biomagnification]] exist because the plant may contain the neurotoxin [[BMAA]] that remains present in the bodies of animals consuming it, and BMAA has been documented as passing along the [[food chain]].<ref name=Banack>{{cite journal |author1=Banack, S.A. |author2=Cox, P.A. |year=2003 |title=Biomagnification of cycad neurotoxins in flying foxes: Implications for ALS-PDC in Guam |journal=Neurology |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=387–389 |doi=10.1212/01.wnl.0000078320.18564.9f |pmid=12913204 |s2cid=38943437}}</ref> ''Azolla'' may contain this substance that is a possible cause of neurodegenerative diseases, including causing ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sjodin, Erik |date=December 2014 |title=Azolla, BMAA, and neurodegenerative diseases |url=https://www.academia.edu/10074317 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Are toxins in seafood causing ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's? |date=May 2011 |magazine=[[Discover Magazine]] |url=http://discovermagazine.com/2011/may/22-seafood-toxins-causing-als-alzheimers-parkinsons |access-date=2019-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Williams, Amy Bennett |date=7 August 2019 |title=Documentary about algae and public health debuts to sold-out crowd |newspaper=Fort Myers News-Press |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/tech/science/environment/2019/08/07/documentary-algae-and-public-health-debuts-sold-out-crowd/1926083001/}}</ref> ''Azolla'' has been suggested as a foodstuff for human consumption; however, no long-term studies of the safety of eating ''Azolla'' have been made on humans.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sjodin |first=Erik |year=2012 |title=The Azolla Cooking and Cultivation Project |publisher=Erik Sjödin |isbn=978-91-980686-0-3}}</ref> Previous studies attributed neurotoxin production to ''Anabaena flos-aquae'' species, which is also a type of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Agnihotri |first=Vijai K. |year=2014 |title=Anabaena flos-aquae |journal=Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology |volume=44 |issue=18 |pages=1995–2037 |s2cid=84472933 |doi=10.1080/10643389.2013.803797|bibcode=2014CREST..44.1995A }}</ref> Studies published in 2024 have found that “the Azolla–Nostoc azollae superorganism does not contain BMAA or their isomers DAB and AEG and that Azolla and N. azollae do not synthesize other common cyanotoxins.” <ref>{{cite journal |last=Bujak |first=Jonathan P. |year=2024 |title=Azolla as a Safe Food: Suppression of Cyanotoxin-Related Genes and Cyanotoxin Production in Its Symbiont, Nostoc azollae |journal=Plants |volume=13 |issue=19 |page=2707 | doi=10.3390/plants13192707 |doi-access=free |pmc=11479175 }}</ref> Further research may be needed to ascertain whether ''A.&nbsp;azollae'' is a healthy foodstuff for humans. 

====Companion plant====
''Azolla'' has been used for at least one thousand years in rice paddies as a [[companion plant]], to fix nitrogen and to block out light to prevent competition from other plants. Rice is planted when tall enough to poke through the ''Azolla'' layer. Mats of mature ''Azolla'' can also be used as a weed-suppressing [[mulch]].

Rice farmers used ''Azolla'' as a rice biofertilizer 1500 years ago. The earliest known written record of this practice is in a book written by Jia Ssu Hsieh (Jia Si Xue) in 540&nbsp;AD on ''The Art of Feeding the People'' (Chih Min Tao Shu). By the end of the [[Ming dynasty]] in the early 17th century, ''Azolla''<nowiki/>'s use as a green compost was documented in local records.<ref>{{cite web |title=The East discovers Azolla |url=http://theazollafoundation.org/azolla/azollas-use-in-the-east/ |website=Azolla Foundation |access-date=18 August 2014}}</ref>