Fucoidan

Rich66 · 12-02-2009, 11:11 PM

How It Works

Bottom Line: Fucoidan has not been shown to treat cancer in humans.

Fucoidan is a complex polysaccharide found in Brown seaweed. It can slow down blood clotting. Laboratory studies suggest that it can prevent growth of cancer cells and also has neuroprotective effects. But there is no human data. Because of its anticoagulant property, fucoidan may increase the side effects of other "blood thinning" drugs.
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Purported Uses

Immunostimulation
Although in vitro data suggests a role for fucoidan in boosting host defense mechanisms, human data is lacking.
Allergies
There is no clinical data to support this use.
Lower blood pressure
This use is not supported by clinical trials.
Decrease cholesterol
There is no data to substantiate this claim.
Inhibit blood clotting
Laboratory studies suggest that Fucoidan has anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects.
Inflammation
There is no data to support this use.
Antibacterial
There is no clinical data to evaluate this use.
Antiviral
No studies have been conducted to investigate this use.

Research Evidence

Laboratory studies are ongoing to determine the antitumor effects of fucoidan. However, there is no data from clinical trials.

Do Not Take If

Theoretically, fucoidan may have additive effects with anticoagulants such as warfarin and heparin.
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Side Effects

No adverse reactions have been reported from use of Fucoidan.
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Common Name

Sulfated alpha-L-fucan
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Clinical Summary

Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found in the cell walls of many species of Brown seaweed. Preliminary data show that fucoidan has antitumor and antiangiogenic ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾effects in vitro. These effects are brought about by stimulating natural killer cells and by down regulating AP-I involved in cellular proliferation. Fucoidan also exhibited neuroprotective effects ⁽¹¹⁾ ⁽¹²⁾, but human data is lacking.
In other studies, fucoidan demonstrated anticoagulant ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ and antithrombotic ⁽¹⁰⁾ activities, and can have additive effects when taken with anticoagulants.
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Food Sources

Several species of Brown seaweed
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Purported uses

Allergies
Bacterial Infections
Hypertension
Immunostimulation
Inflammation
Viral infections

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Constituents

Alpha (1, 2) or Alpha (1, 3) 4-O-sulfated-L-fucose
Galactose
Xylose
Glucoronic acid
⁽¹⁾
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Mechanism of Action

Fucoidan has been shown to inhibit metastasis by preventing adhesion of tumor cells to the extracellular matrix. This is achieved by blocking the fibronectin cell-binding domain, necessary for formation of adhesion complexes ⁽⁴⁾. Fucoidan was also shown to induce apoptosis of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) that causes Adult T-cell leukemia. It does so by inactivating NF-kB that regulates antiapoptotic proteins. It suppresses AP-I, a transcription factor involved in cellular proliferation and transformation ⁽³⁾. An vitro study showed that Fucoidan can suppress angiogenesis induced by Sarcoma 180 cells in mice ⁽⁵⁾. Fucoidan has immunomodulating effects and enhanced the activity of NK cells, which play a crucial role in mediating tumor cell death ⁽²⁾. The neuroprotective effects of fucoidan are attributed to its ability to suppress tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)- and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-induced NO production in C6 glioma cells ⁽¹¹⁾ and to its antioxidative effects ⁽¹²⁾.
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Contraindications

Because of its anticoagulant property ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾, fucoidan may have additive effects with anticoagulants such as warfarin and heparin.
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Adverse Reactions

No adverse reactions have been reported from use of Fucoidan.
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References

Giraux JL, Matou S, Bros A, Tapon-Bretaudiere J, Letourneur D, Fischer AM. Modulation of human endothelial cell proliferation and migration by fucoidan and heparin. Eur J Cell Biol 1998; 77(4):352-359.
Maruyama H, Tamauchi H, Hashimoto M, Nakano T. Antitumor activity and immune response of Mekabu fucoidan extracted from Sporophyll of Undaria pinnatifida. In Vivo 2003; 17(3):245-249.
Haneji K, Matsuda T, Tomita M et al. Fucoidan extracted from cladosiphon okamuranus tokida induces apoptosis of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1-infected T-cell lines and primary adult T-cell leukemia cells. Nutr Cancer 2005; 52(2):189-201.
Liu JM, Bignon J, Haroun-Bouhedja F et al. Inhibitory effect of fucoidan on the adhesion of adenocarcinoma cells to fibronectin. Anticancer Res 2005; 25(3B):2129-2133.
Koyanagi S, Tanigawa N, Nakagawa H, Soeda S, Shimeno H. Oversulfation of fucoidan enhances its anti-angiogenic and antitumor activities. Biochem Pharmacol 2003; 65(2):173-179.
Alekseyenko TV, Zhanayeva SY, Venediktova AA, et al. Antitumor and antimetastatic activity of fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide isolated from the Okhotsk Sea Fucus evanescens brown alga. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2007 Jun;143(6):730-2.
Nagamine T, Hayakawa K, Kusakabe T, et al. Inhibitory effect of fucoidan on Huh7 hepatoma cells through downregulation of CXCL12. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(3):340-7.
Colliec S, Fischer AM, Tapon-Bretaudiere J, et al. Anticoagulant properties of a fucoïdan fraction. Thromb Res. 1991 Oct 15;64(2):143-54.
Irhimeh MR, Fitton JH, Lowenthal RM. Pilot clinical study to evaluate the anticoagulant activity of fucoidan. Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 2009 Aug 18. [Epub ahead of print]
Church FC, Meade JB, Treanor RE, Whinna HC. Antithrombin activity of fucoidan. The interaction of fucoidan with heparin cofactor II, antithrombin III, and thrombin. J Biol Chem. 1989 Feb 25;264(6):3618-23.
Do H, Pyo S, Sohn EH. Suppression of iNOS expression by fucoidan is mediated by regulation of p38 MAPK, JAK/STAT, AP-1 and IRF-1, and depends on up-regulation of scavenger receptor B1 expression in TNF-alpha- and IFN-gamma-stimulated C6 glioma cells. J Nutr Biochem. 2009 Jul 1. [Epub ahead of print]
Luo D, Zhang Q, Wang H, et al. Fucoidan protects against dopaminergic neuron death in vivo and in vitro. Eur J Pharmacol. 2009 Sep 1;617(1-3):33-40.