Fucoidan, a constituent of C. frondosa, is emerging as one of the most intriguing immune system enhancers of our time.
Extensive pharmaceutical research has been performed on and with fucoidan and it has subsequently been cited in hundreds of studies published in the National Library of Medicine’s database.¹ Generally speaking, fucoidan is a food fiber and a constituent present in certain sea vegetables and sea cucumber, such as C. frondosa. Broken down to a cellular level, fucoidan is a group of sulfated fucose-containing polysaccharides derived from non-mammalian origin such as a marine brown algae, the jelly coat from sea urchin eggs, and the 8 sea cucumber body wall. Fucoidan acts on the immune system and in inflammatory response. It has been shown to strengthen the immune system by stimulation of interferon gamma (IFNg) and natural killer cells, which help the body destroy infection ²–¹²‚ ¹³–¹5 from viruses. Other noted benefits of fucoidans include assisting with detoxification and providing nourishment and cell growth to the skin.
References
- Mitchell A Fleisher, MD, DHt, DABFM, DcABCT. Potent, New, Marine-Derived Immune Support By http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?ProdID=art2149&zTYPE=2.
- Hirayasu H, et al. Sulfated polysaccharides derived from dietary seaweeds increase the esterase activity of a lymphocyte tryptase, granzyme A. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 2005; 51(6):475-7.
- Irhimeh MR, et al. Fucoidan ingestion increases the expression of CXCR4 on human CD34+ cells. Exp Hematol 2007; 35(6):989-94.
- Berteau O, Mulloy B. Sulfated fucans, fresh perspectives: structures, functions, and biological properties of sulfated fucans and an overview of enzymes active toward this class of polysaccharide. Glycobiology 2003;13:29R-40R.
- Church FC, et al. Antithrombin activity of fucoidan. The interaction of fucoidan with heparin cofactor II, antithrombin III, and thrombin. J Biol Chem 1989; 264:3618-3623.
- Logeart D, et al. Collagen synthesis by vascular smooth muscle cells in the presence of antiproliferative polysaccharides. J Biomed Mater Res 1996; 30:501-508.
- Foxall C, et al. The three members of the selectin receptor family recognize a common carbohydrate epitope, the sialyl Lewis(x) oligosaccharide. J Cell Biol 1992; 117:895-902.
- Patel MK, et al. The antimitogenic action of the sulphated polysaccharide fucoidan differs from heparin in human vascular smooth muscle cells. Thromb Haemost 2002; 87:149-154.
- Logeart D, et al. Fucans, sulfated polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweeds, inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. II. Degradation and molecular weight effect. Eur J Cell Biol 1997; 74:385-390.
- Preeprame S, et al. A novel antivirally active fucan sulfate derived from an edible brown alga, Sargassum horneri. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2001; 49:484-485.
- Zhu W, et al. Isolation and characterization of a sulfated polysaccharide from the brown alga Sargassum patens and determination of its anti-herpes activity. Biochem Cell Biol 2003; 81:25-33.
- Patankar MS, et al. A revised structure for fucoidan may explain some of its biological activities. J Biol Chem 1993; 268:21770-21776.
- . Maruyama H, et al. The role of NK cells in antitumor activity of dietary fucoidan from Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (Mekabu). Planta Med 2006; 72(15):1415-7.
- Deux JF, et al. Low Molecular Weight Fucoidan Prevents Neointimal Hyperplasia in Rabbit Iliac Artery In- Stent Restenosis Model. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 2002; 22:1604.
- Aisa Y, et al. Fucoidan induces apoptosis of human HS-sultan cells accompanied by activation of caspase-3 and down-regulation of ERK pathways. American Journal of Hematology 2005; 78(1):7–14.