The key difference between fucoidan and fucoxanthin is that fucoidan is a fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharide present in different species of brown a

Ho Park, and Beom-Su Kim. Korean J Clin Lab Sci. 2017;49:323-8. https://doi.org/10.15324/kjcls.2017.49.4.323

Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide present in marine brown seaweed, has been demonstrated to inhibit in vivo and in vitro growth of cells. The present study was conducted in HT‑29 human colon cancer cells cultured at a high density, and examined the potential underlying mechanisms by which fucoidan exerts its anti‑proliferative effects, which remain poorly understood. Fucoidan treatment of high‑density HT‑29 cells resulted in the inhibition of cell growth and increased apoptotic cell death. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that fucoidan treatment led to sub‑G1 phase cell cycle arrest. This was associated with decreased protein expression levels of Retinoblastoma protein and E2 factor protein. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that fucoidan possesses anticancer activity against high density HT‑29 cells by inhibiting cell growth and cell cycle progression.

Dr. Jennifer Kohler, Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, speaks about her research in intestinal fucose. The Joint Webinar Series is a collaborative effort by GlycoNet and American Chemical Society's Carbohydrate Chemistry Division. The series is sponsored by New England Biolabs. To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/glycowebinar

In this study, we observed that brown seaweed fucoidan inhibited human breast cancer progression by upregulating microRNA (miR)-29c and downregulating miR-17-5p, thereby suppressing their target genes, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 12 (ADAM12) and ...

Immunomodulation involves two mechanisms, immunostimulation and immunosuppression. It is a complex mechanism that regulates the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of various diseases affecting the immune system. Immunomodulators can be used as immunostimulators to reduce the side effects of drugs that induce immunosuppression. In this study, we characterized the chemical composition of high molecular weight fucoidan (HMWF) and low molecular weight fucoidan and compared their functions as natural killer (NK) cell-derived immunostimulators in vitro. We also tested the effectiveness of HMWF, which has a relatively high function in vitro, as an immunostimulator in immunosuppressed animal models. In these models, HWMF significantly restored NK cell cytotoxicity and granzyme B release to the control group level. In addition, the expression of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-12, interferon (IFN)-γ, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α also increased in the spleen. This study suggests that HMWF acts as an effective immunostimulant under immunosuppressive conditions.

Cancer cachexia is characterized by anorexia, skeletal muscle atrophy, and systemic inflammation. Fucoidan extracted from brown algae exhibits anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. However, whether fucoidan ameliorates tumour and chemotherapy-induced muscle atrophy and -related cachectic symp …

Effect and mechanism of laminaria japonica polysaccharide (LJP) on apoptosis and cycle of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, Fugui Wei, Xunxun Lu, Ying Lin, Min Guo, Wenzhong Sun

Chitosan, fucoidan, and polyvinyl alcohol are categorized as polymers with biomedical applications. Ampicillin, on the other hand, is considered as an important antibiotic that has shown effectivity in both gram-positive and gram-negative micro-organisms. The aforementioned polymers possess unique p …

Fucoidan was purified from seaweed, Turbinaria conoides. Isolated fragments were characterized with NMR (13C, 1H), Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectronomy…

The marine acid polysaccharide fucoidan has attracted attention from both the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its promising therapeutic effects. Fucoidan is a polysaccharide that mainly consists of L-fucose and sulphate groups. Its excellent biological function is attributed to its unique …

Our previous study has suggested that the crude polysaccharide obtained from Laminaria japonica by acid assisted extraction (LP-A) have significant bile acid-binding capacity, which probably ascribed to its specific structure characterization. The relationship between structure characterization and bile acid-binding capacity of the purified LP-A fractions are still unknown. This paper conducted a comparison study on the structure characterization and bile acid-binding capacity of three LP-A fractions (LP-A4, LP-A6, and LP-A8). The results indicated that LP-A4, LP-A6, and LP-A8, characterized as mannoglucan, fucomannoglucan, and fucogalactan, had significantly different structure characterization. Furthermore, the bile acid-binding capacity of LP-A8 was obviously higher than the other fractions, which may be attributed to its highly branched structure, abundant sulfate, fucose, and galactose in chemical composition and denser interconnected macromolecule network in molecular morphology. This study provides scientific evidence for the potential utilization of LP-A8 as an attractive functional food supplement candidate for the hyperlipidemia population.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major malignancies in humans. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of fucoidan on gut flora and tumor…

(2018). Effects of fucoidan on diabetic rat testicular tissue. Biotechnic & Histochemistry: Vol. 93, No. 4, pp. 277-285.

Preliminary investigation of a fucoidan with demonstrated reduction in the symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee.A double-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out to determine the safety and efficacy of a 300 mg dose of a Fucus ...

Fucoidan is an effective antitumor agent, either alone or in combination with cisplatin, doxorubicin and taxol in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Drug combinations that discriminate between cancerous and non-cancerous cells afford a plausible and viable strategy of attaining therapeutic efficacy and avoi …

Background: Alcoholic liver disease is caused as a result of chronic alcohol consumption. In this study, we used an alcoholic liver injury mouse model to investigate the effect of fucoidan on ethanol-induced liver injury and steatosis and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: All mice were randomly divided into four groups: 1) control group, 2) model group, 3) diammonium glycyrrhizinate treatment group (200 mg/kg body weight), and 4) fucoidan treatment group (300 mg/kg body weight). Administration of ethanol for 8 weeks induced liver injury and steatosis in mice. Results: Fucoidan treatment decreased serum alanine aminotransferase activity, serum total cholesterol levels, and hepatic triglyceride levels, and improved the morphology of hepatic cells. Fucoidan treatment upregulated the expression of AMPKα1, SIRT1, and PGC-1α and inhibited the expression of ChREBP and HNF-1α. The levels of hepatic IL-6 and IL-18 were significantly decreased in the fucoidan group. Further, the levels of cytochrome P450-2E1 (CYP2E1), glucose-regulated protein (GRP) 78, and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) in hepatic tissues were reduced in the fucoidan group as compared to the model group. Fucoidan significantly reversed the reduction of ileac Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) levels induced by alcohol- feeding and reduced CYP7A1 (cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase) expression and total bile acid levels in the liver tissue. In addition, fucoidan regulated the structure of gut flora, with increased abundance of Prevotella and decreased abundance of Paraprevotella and Romboutsia as detected by 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. Conclusion: Fucoidan inhibited alcohol-induced steatosis and disorders of bile acid metabolism in mice through the AMPKα1/SIRT1 pathway and the gut microbiota–bile acid–liver axis and protected against alcohol- induced liver injury in vivo.

Fucoidan is a sulphated polysaccharide isolated from brown seaweeds. It has attracted a lot of attention due to its multiple physiological and biological properties. The most dominant polysaccharides...

A proprietary preparation of the Japanese seaweed Tasmanian Undaria pinnatifida has inhibitory effects in various Herpes infections.