Biological Activities of Fucoidan and the Factors Mediating Its Therapeutic Effects: A Review of Recent Studies

• Published in: Marine drugs Vol. 17; no. 3; p. 183
• Main Authors: Wang, Yu, Xing, Maochen, Cao, Qi, Ji, Aiguo, Liang, Hao, Song, Shuliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20.03.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: acid polysaccharide; Angiogenesis; Animals; Anticancer properties; Anticoagulants; Antioxidants; Antitumour agents; Antiviral agents; Apoptosis; Aquatic Organisms - chemistry; Autophagy; Biological activity; biological function; Biological Products - chemistry; Biological Products - pharmacology; Biological Products - therapeutic use; biological structure; Cancer therapies; Cardiovascular disease; Cell division; Chemotherapy; Disease Models, Animal; Food industry; Fucoidan; Fucose; Gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal tract; Human diseases; Humans; Immunoregulation; Industry; Inflammation; Influence; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Molecular Structure; Natural products; Oxidation; Pharmaceutical industry; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - pharmacology; Polysaccharides - therapeutic use; Product development; Review; Signal transduction; acid polysaccharide; biological structure; fucoidan; biological function
• ISSN: 1660-3397; 1660-3397
• DOI: 10.3390/md17030183

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 biological structure. Classical activities include antitumor, antioxidant, anticoagulant, antithrombotic, immunoregulatory, antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. More recently, fucoidan has been shown to alleviate metabolic syndrome, protect the gastrointestinal tract, benefit angiogenesis and bone health. This review focuses on the progress in our understanding of the biological activities of fucoidan, highlighting its benefits for the treatment of human disease. We hope that this review can provide some theoretical basis and inspiration for the product development of fucoidan.