0 Glyconutrients

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Currently, approximately 20–40% of individuals with diabetes are…

Dr. Hans VInk discusses the endothelial glycocalyx: your vascular system's first line of defense.

Low molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF), extracted from Laminaria japonica Areschoug, is a traditional Chinese medicine, commonly used to alleviate edema…

Epoxy resins are ubiquitous in high-performance composite applications because of their excellent mechanical strength, thermal and chemical resistance, strong adhesion, and low shrinkage after curing. Bio-based epoxy resins derived from natural products such as carbohydrates offer tremendous potential for creating new polymeric materials. Sugars and their derivatives often offer great biodegradability and functionality such as the presence of multiple hydroxyl groups that impart highly cross-linked polymer networks. Moreover, their ring structures can afford polymers with high glass transition temperatures. To develop epoxy resins containing sustainably sourced feedstocks, we designed and synthesized trehalose- and β-cyclodextrin-based carboxylic acid hardeners for epoxy resins and examined the thermal, mechanical, and adhesive properties of the resulting materials. Trehalose and β-cyclodextrin were succinylated with excess succinic anhydride, and the resulting carboxylic acid hardeners formed homogeneous mixtures with trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether (TTE) in different carboxyl–epoxide ratios. The cured resins were found to be thermally stable (Td5 > 300 °C) and display high Young’s moduli of up to 1.4 and 1.8 GPa with mechanical strengths of 47 and 64 MPa for the trehalose- and β-cyclodextrin-based epoxy resins, respectively. Preliminary adhesion tests showed that the cured resins exhibit excellent lap-shear strengths of 3600 and 2100 psi, respectively. The resins were also degradable into water-soluble components in both aqueous acidic and basic solutions but were relatively stable from hydrolysis in neutral aqueous conditions. These results imply that this novel class of hardeners are promising feedstocks for renewable high performance epoxy resins.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of Aloe vera polysaccharides (APs), the main bioactive components in Aloe vera…

Low molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) was prepared from Laminaria japonica Areschoug, a popular seafood and medicinal plant consumed in Asia. Chinese h…

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a type of serious microangiopathy that is caused by diabetes mellitus (DM). It is the most common cause of chronic renal failure and end-stage renal disease, and it severely affects patients’ quality of life. This work aims to study the effect and mechanism of low molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DN. The experimental results showed that LMWF prevented weight loss in DN rats, significantly reduced the levels of biochemical indexes in blood and urine samples, and also lowered hyaluronic acid (HA) levels and advanced glycosylation end product-specific receptor (AGER) levels in DN rats. LMWF maintained the structural integrity of glomerular basement membrane (GBM) and glomerulus, improved the glomerular filtration function, protected glycosaminoglycan from abnormal degrading, prevented advanced glycosylation end product (AGE) from being generated and accumulating, and also alleviated inflammatory response in DN rats. LMWF could obviously ameliorate and slow the development and progression of DN in rats.

We investigated the renal protective effects of low molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) and its two fractions (F0.5 and F1.0), which were extracted from …

The endothelial glycocalyx (EG) lining the endoluminal surface of the capillaries has been proposed as a key component of the microcirculation and a major player in microvascular pathology. Recent advances in the understanding of its physiological role and clinical significance have been made upon t …

Europe PMC is an archive of life sciences journal literature.

The low solubility of traditional herbal products is a major drawback that hinders the efficacy of their use in medicinal products. In this study, a n…

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious microvascular complication that can lead to chronic and end-stage renal failure. It is understood that inflamma…

Albuminuria is a causative and aggravating factor for progressive renal damage in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study was to determine if low molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) could protect renal function and tubular cells from albumin overload caused injury. Treatment with 10 mg/g bovine serum albumin caused renal dysfunction, morphological changes, and overexpression of inflammation and fibrosis associated proteins in 129S2/Sv mice. LMWF (100 mg/kg) protected against kidney injury and renal dysfunction with decreased blood creatinine by 34% and urea nitrogen by 25%, increased creatinine clearance by 48%, and decreased significantly urinary albumin concentration. In vitro proximal tubule epithelial cell (NRK-52E) model showed that LMWF dose-dependently inhibited overexpression of proinflammatory and profibrotic factors, oxidative stress and apoptosis caused by albumin overload. These experimental results indicate that LMWF protects against albumin overload caused renal injury by inhibiting inflammation, fibrosis, oxidative stress and apoptosis, which suggests that LMWF could be a promising candidate drug for preventing CKD.

In this series you will gain the clearest explanation you will ever hear to help you understand how to completely reverse Type 2 Diabetes, how to understand your lipid profile LDL, HDL and VLDL, and how to reverse atherosclerotic coronary artery disease naturally. In addition, you will learn the extremely harmful effects of sugar, and you will understand how the structure lining the arteries plays a critical role in health and arterial disease. 1. Reversing Diabetes 2. Lowering Cholesterol Naturally 3. Fructose Poisoning of the Liver 4. The Glycocalyx

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease, and many factors are implicated in its progression. This work aims to study the preventive eff…

Fucoidan is a type of sulfated polysaccharide isolated from seaweed. The present study used ovariectomized Sprague‑Dawley rats, which were treated with fucoidan. The effects of fucoidan on bone metabolism, density and microarchitecture were assessed using micro‑computed tomography (CT), histomorphometric analysis, biochemical markers of bone metabolism (Serum procollagen type I N propeptide and C‑terminal telopeptide‑1) and tests of mechanical competence of the femur. In addition, the effects of low‑molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) on in vitro cultured osteoclasts were examined, in order to determine the mechanisms underlying LMWF‑induced osteoclastic inhibition. In ovariectomized rats, LMWF increased femoral bone density. Micro‑CT scan also revealed that LMWF prevented microarchitectural deterioration and histomorphometric analysis determined that LMWF increased trabecular bone number and reduced the surface of bone resorption. In addition, LMWF reduced the high bone turnover rate, and improved the mechanical properties of the femur in ovariectomized rats. In vitro experiments revealed that LMWF inhibited the receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony‑stimulating factor‑induced differentiation of RAW264.7 cells into tartrate‑resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)‑positive osteoclasts, and reduced the bone resorption surface of the osteoclasts. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that LMWF inhibited mRNA expression of TRAP, matrix metallopeptidase‑9, nuclear activator of activated T‑cells 1, and osteoclast‑associated immunoglobulin‑like receptor, which are components of the signaling pathway for osteoclast differentiation. LMWF had no effect on RANK mRNA expression. In conclusion, the present study confirmed that LMWF inhibited osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption, and may be a potential treatment for osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats.

Fucoidan is a type of sulfated polysaccharide isolated from seaweed. The present study used ovariectomized Sprague‑Dawley rats, which were treated with fucoidan. The effects of fucoidan on bone metabolism, density and microarchitecture were assessed using micro‑computed tomography (CT), histomorphometric analysis, biochemical markers of bone metabolism (Serum procollagen type I N propeptide and C‑terminal telopeptide‑1) and tests of mechanical competence of the femur. In addition, the effects of low‑molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) on in vitro cultured osteoclasts were examined, in order to determine the mechanisms underlying LMWF‑induced osteoclastic inhibition. In ovariectomized rats, LMWF increased femoral bone density. Micro‑CT scan also revealed that LMWF prevented microarchitectural deterioration and histomorphometric analysis determined that LMWF increased trabecular bone number and reduced the surface of bone resorption. In addition, LMWF reduced the high bone turnover rate, and improved the mechanical properties of the femur in ovariectomized rats. In vitro experiments revealed that LMWF inhibited the receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony‑stimulating factor‑induced differentiation of RAW264.7 cells into tartrate‑resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)‑positive osteoclasts, and reduced the bone resorption surface of the osteoclasts. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that LMWF inhibited mRNA expression of TRAP, matrix metallopeptidase‑9, nuclear activator of activated T‑cells 1, and osteoclast‑associated immunoglobulin‑like receptor, which are components of the signaling pathway for osteoclast differentiation. LMWF had no effect on RANK mRNA expression. In conclusion, the present study confirmed that LMWF inhibited osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption, and may be a potential treatment for osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats.

Background Oral submucous fibrosis is a chronic disease, treatment of which has largely been symptomatic. Aloe vera has immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, antioxidant, and antineopl...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and long-term disability. Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from brown algae, possesses potent anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. Considering TBI happens frequently in adults, especially in aged individuals, we herein sought to define the protective effects of low-molecular-weight fucoidan (LMWF) in the aged mice. 16- to 18-month-old mice administered with LMWF (1–50 mg/kg) or vehicle were subjected to TBI using a controlled cortical impact (CCI) model. LMWF at the doses of 10 and 50 mg/kg significantly reduced both cortical and hippocampal lesion volume. This protection was associated with reduced neuronal apoptosis, as evidenced by TUNEL staining. Importantly, LMWF was effective even when administered up to 4 h after TBI. Treatment with LMWF improved long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, including sensorimotor function, and hippocampus-associated spatial learning and memory. In addition, LMWF significantly suppressed protein carbonyl, lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, as well as mitochondrial dysfunction, which was evidenced by mitochondrial cytochrome c release and collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). To evaluate the underlying molecular mechanisms, the expression of sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. The results showed that TBI significantly increased the expression of Sirt3, which was further elevated by LMWF treatment. Knockdown of Sirt3 using intracerebroventricular injection of small interfering RNA (siRNA) partially prevented the therapeutic effects of LMWF. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that LMWF exerts neuroprotection against TBI in the aged brain, which may be associated with the attenuation of mitochondrial dysfunction through Sirt3 activation.

In this study, we showed that PI3K/Akt signaling mediates fucoidan’s anticancer effects on prostate cancer cells, including suppression of proliferation. Fucoidan significantly decreased viability of DU-145 cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner as shown by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. The drug also significantly increased chromatin condensation, which indicates apoptosis, in a concentration-dependent manner as shown by DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining. Fucoidan increased expression of Bax, cleaved poly-ADP ribose polymerase and cleaved caspase-9, and decreased of the Bcl-2, p-Akt, p-PI3K, p-P38, and p-ERK in a concentration-dependent manner. In vivo, fucoidan (at 5 and 10 mg/kg) significantly decreased tumor volume, and increased apoptosis as assessed by the TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling) assay, confirming the tumor inhibitory effect. The drug also increased expression of p-Akt and p-ERK as shown by immunohistochemistry staining. Therefore, fucoidan may be a promising cancer preventive medicine due to its growth inhibitory effects and induction of apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells.

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a clinical syndrome with a variety of causes, mainly characterized by heavy proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and edema. At present, identification of effective and less toxic therapeutic interventions for nephrotic syndrome remains to be an important issue. In this study, we isolated fucoidan from Saccharina japonica and prepared its depolymerized fragment by oxidant degradation. Fucoidan and its depolymerized fragment had similar chemical constituents. Their average molecular weights were 136 and 9.5 kDa respectively. The effect of fucoidan and its depolymerized fragment on adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome were investigated in a rat model. The results showed that adriamycin-treated rats had heavy proteinuria and increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), total cholesterol (TC), and total triglyceride (TG) levels. Oral administration of fucoidan or low-molecular-weight fucoidan for 30 days could significantly inhibit proteinuria and decrease the elevated BUN, SCr, TG, and TC level in a dose-dependent manner. At the same dose (100 mg/kg), low-molecular-weight fucoidan had higher renoprotective activity than fucoidan. Their protective effect on nephrotic syndrome was partly related to their antioxidant activity. The results suggested that both fucoidan and its depolymerized fragment had excellent protective effect on adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome, and might have potential for the treatment of nephrotic syndrome.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is rich in growth factors and has commonly been utilized in the repair and regeneration of damaged articular cartilage. However, the major drawbacks of direct PRP injection are unstable biological fixation and fast or burst release of growth factors. Fucoidan is a heparinoid compound that can bind growth factors to control their release rate. Furthermore, fucoidan can reduce arthritis through suppressing inflammatory responses and thus it has been reported to prevent the progression of osteoarthritis, promote bone regeneration and accelerate healing of cartilage injury. Injectable hydrogels can be used to deliver cells and growth factors for an alternative, less invasive treatment of cartilage defects. In this study, hyaluronic acid (HA) and fucoidan (FD) was blended with gelatin (GLT) and the GLT/HA/FD hybrid was further cross-linked with genipin (GP) to prepare injectable GP-GLT/HA/FD hydrogels. The gelation rate was affected by the GP, GLT, HA and FD concentrations, as well as the pH values. The addition of HA and FD to GLT networks improved the mechanical strength of the hydrogels and facilitated the sustained release of PRP growth factors. The GP-GLT/HA/FD hydrogel showed adequate injectability, shape-persistent property and strong adhesive ability, and was more resistant to enzymatic degradation. The PRP-loaded GP-GLT/HA/FD hydrogel promoted cartilage regeneration in rabbits, which may lead to an advanced PRP therapy for enhancing cartilage repair.

Background: Low-molecular-weight fucoidan (LMF) is widely used as a food supplement for cancer patients. However, all of the studies are in vitro or were conducted using mice. Therefore, powerful clinical evidence for LMF use is relatively weak. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of LMF as a supplemental therapy to chemo-target agents in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of LMF as a supplemental therapy to chemotarget agents in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Sixty eligible patients with mCRC were included. Finally, 54 patients were enrolled, of whom 28 were included in the study group and 26 in the control group. The primary endpoint was the disease control rate (DCR), and secondary endpoints included the overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), adverse effects (AEs), and quality of life (QOL). Results: The DCRs were 92.8% and 69.2% in the study and control groups, respectively (p = 0.026), in a median follow-up period of 11.5 months. The OS, PFS, ORR, AEs, and QOL did not significantly differ between the two groups. Conclusion: This is the first clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of LMF as a supplemental therapy in the management of patients with mCRC. The results indicate that LMF combined with chemotarget agents significantly improved the DCR.