Studies 1
Fucoidan Potent, Marine-Derived Immune Support
By Mitchell A. Fleisher, MD, DHt, DABFM, DcABCT
The ocean is a vast source of a large number of health-giving substances. Omega-3 fatty acids from deep sea fish are some of the best known of these marine-derived nutrients. However, a lesser known, but equally important sea-derived substance called fucoidan, a component of certain seaweeds, is beginning to emerge as a powerful tool for enhancing immunity and other important aspects of overall health and well-being. Furthermore, a purified extract of certified organic fucoidan harvested from the pristine waters off the coast of Nova Scotia provides health-supporting properties that are evident after consumption of even extremely low doses.
Scientists have conducted an extensive array of in vitro and animal studies that have found fucoidan exhibits powerful inhibitory action against herpes and HIV viruses. Furthermore, newer, human research is confirming what these in vitro and animal studies have found in the past. Other studies have delved into a number of immune-enhancing characteristics of fucoidan, indicating it may be of particular benefit for immune support during the cold and flu season.
Moreover, studies indicate fucoidan may improve cardiovascular health, reduce non-ulcer-related indigestion, control allergic reactions and even inhibit the prions (denuded, ancient, pre-viral DNA/RNA particles) responsible for the sheep version of “mad cow disease.”
What is Fucoidan?
Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found primarily in various species of brown seaweed, such as hijiki, kombu, limu, moui, mozuku and wakame. Variant forms of fucoidan have also been found in animal species, including the sea cucumber. Extensive pharmaceutical research has been performed with fucoidan, focusing on two distinct forms: F-fucoidan, which is composed of over 95 percent sulfated esters of fucose and U-fucoidan, which is approximately 20 percent glucuronic acid. As a result of this scientific research, nutraceutical products containing purified concentrates of U-fucoidan and F-fucoidan are currently being made available as an immune enhancing food supplement.1
Research regarding fucoidan commenced around 1970, and subsequently, fucoidan has been cited in approximately 700 studies published in the National Library of Medicine’s database. Overall, the findings of this substantial body of scientific research, together with anecdotal evidence provided by a long history of culturally-based use of fucoidan-rich seaweeds in regions such as Hawaii, Korea, Japan, Polynesia and Tonga, clearly indicate that fucoidan demonstrates great potential as safe, nutritional support for a wide variety of health conditions.
Sea-Derived Immune Support
The most significant benefits of fucoidan pertain to its ability to strengthen the immune system. In a number of in vitro and animal studies, it has inhibited coated viruses such as herpes, HIV and human cytomegalovirus, a type of herpes virus that can cause blindness and fatal pneumonia in individuals with compromised immune systems. Experiments have suggested that fucoidan may not only inhibit the initial stages of viral infection, such as attachment to and penetration into host cells, but also the later replication stages after virus penetration.2
In another interesting study in mice, researchers tested fucoidan, along with a number of other agents, to see whether they could prevent genital herpes infections. The scientists administered fucoidan, or a number of other agents, to the vaginas of the animals approximately 20 seconds prior to inoculating the animals with a highly infectious herpes simplex virus type 2. The fucoidan was one of the agents that “provided significant protection” against herpes virus infection.3
A pilot study by University of Chicago researchers found similar properties when fucoidan was consumed orally by humans. Fifteen patients with active herpes-type infections (including herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, herpes zoster or Epstein bar virus) and six subjects with latent infections, consumed oral doses of fucoidan. Ingestion of fucoidan was associated with increased healing rates in patients with active infections. In addition, patients with latent infections remained asymptomatic while ingesting fucoidan.4
The ability of fucoidan to inhibit the herpes virus may explain, in part, why there is a much lower incidence of herpes simplex virus type 2 infections in Japan, compared with the west, in that the Japanese diet contains a high consumption of fucoidan-containing seaweed.
Researchers have also tested fucoidan against other sexually transmitted conditions, with promising results. Using a cell-line derived from the human cervix, researchers have shown that Chlamydia trachomatis infection can be blocked by fucoidan, which prevents the adherence of chlamydiae to target cells.5
The same researchers previously observed that fucoidan and similar substances could inhibit transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in vitro.5 They suggested that fucoidan and similar compounds “could be used in a vaginal formulation to inhibit infection by human immunodeficiency virus.” After conducting the follow-up study with the chlamydia pathogenic organism, the researchers noted, “The results of the present study suggest that the same type of formulation may inhibit sexual transmission of chlamydia.”5
In vitro studies testing fucoidan’s inhibitory effects on the HIV and herpes viruses have shown that fucoidan’s mechanism of action involves blocking virus entry into cells, rather than killing the virus directly. Fucoidan appears to specifically block the host cell surface receptor that the virus normally uses to enter the cell, rather than acting directly as a virus-destroying agent.6
Research that digs deeper into the mechanism of action of fucoidan indicates its reach extends far beyond simply inhibiting viruses. It has been shown to influence the immune system in a number of ways. First, fucoidan has stimulated an increase in levels of a cytokine known as interferon gamma. Cytokines are proteins produced by white blood cells and are important in regulating immunity. Interferon gamma is a cytokine that generates increased immune activity during infections and cancer states.7-8
Another explanation for the immune-enhancing properties of fucoidan involve its ability to stimulate natural killer cells, which play an important part in the immune response by destroying cells infected with viruses. Natural killer cells are also vital to seeking out and destroying tumor cells and are a major defense against malignancies. In a recent study, researchers investigated the effects of fucoidan on the tumor growth of mouse leukemia cells and on T cell-mediated immune responses in mice. The animals were fed a diet containing 1 percent fucoidan for 10 days and subcutaneously inoculated with leukemia cells. Thereafter, the mice were fed with the diet containing fucoidan for 40 days. In mice receiving the fucoidan, tumors were inhibited by 65.4 percent. Additionally, natural killer cell activity significantly increased in the fucoidan-fed mice compared to animals fed a normal diet.9
A French research study in 2002 showed that F-fucoidan can inhibit hyperplasia (abnormal cell overgrowth) in rabbits.10 A Japanese research report in 2005 indicated that F-fucoidan can induce apoptosis (spontaneous, programmed, cancer cell death) in human lymphoma cell lines.11
Clearly, the immune-enhancing properties of fucoidan have far reaching consequences for human health. Some studies are showing that it can down regulate the aspect of the immune system that is responsible for allergic reactions and help control allergic phenomena.
Fucoidan and the Heart
Fucoidan inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation, which is of particular interest in arterial occlusions following placement of stents in heart patients.12 This effect was confirmed in a study of rabbits given fucoidan by intramuscular and intravenous (IV) injection.13
A study using lamb hearts achieved similar results. The researchers induced cardiac ischemia (heart damage caused by oxygen deprivation) in the hearts, then exposed a number of the lamb hearts to fucoidan. In the animal hearts exposed to fucoidan, there was better recovery of left ventricular function, coronary blood flow and myocardial oxygen consumption after ischemia.14
Fucoidan is thought to achieve these heart protective effects by blocking selectins, cell receptors important in the adhesion of white blood cells known as leukocytes to capillary walls. When leukocytes adhere to the blood vessel walls, it can lead to tissue damage, ultimately resulting in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Acting as a selectin blocker, fucoidan can inhibit the migration of leukocytes into blood vessel walls that occurs when oxygen is reintroduced into ischemic tissue (known as reperfusion ischemic necrosis) and thus prevent the organ damage that can occur after oxygen reintroduction.14
Fucoidan’s role as a natural anti-coagulant (blood thinner) also may explain its protective effects on the heart, blood vessels and other vital organs.15
Thus, fucoidan has been demonstrated to possess significant cardioprotective activity that may be of particular benefit to anyone with cardiovascular health conditions and/or for prevention of heart and blood vessel problems.
Wide Variety of Applications
Fucoidan has been demonstrated to have a number of other interesting properties. In one clinical trial, subjects with non-ulcer dyspepsia (indigestion) were given 1.5 to 4.5 mg/kg/day of oral fucoidan for two weeks. Symptoms of non-ulcer dyspepsia were relieved in the subjects given fucoidan. Researchers believe these results are explained by studies that have shown fucoidan can stop the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori from adhering to gastric cells.16
Recently, fucoidan has been demonstrated to have inhibitory activity against the prion infection “scrapie.”17 This disease is closely related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), but appears exclusively in sheep and goats. There is also evidence that fucoidan inhibits infection by the water borne parasite Cryptosporidium, which is responsible for serious, chronic infectious diarrhea, especially in immunocompromised persons, e.g., cancer and AIDS patients, etc.18
A Unique Form of Fucoidan
A special form of fucoidan is harvested in the pristine waters off the coast of Nova Scotia. It is extracted from organic-certified, hand-harvested seaweeds using a proprietary, solvent-free, coldwater process. Furthermore, the seaweed is collected just above the ocean’s surface, not by dredging, thereby being an environmentally friendly, sea-farming process. This ensures that the seaweed is free from contamination and that the harvesting process produces minimal environmental impact while allowing the plant to continue to grow. This special method of extraction and the location of the ocean harvest ensures that the fucoidan is free from the heavy metal contamination that occurs in seaweeds produced in other areas of the world. This is particularly important as studies have shown that kelp supplements may be contaminated with arsenic.19
Conclusion
Fucoidan is emerging as one of the most intriguing immune system enhancers of our time, possessing strong inhibitory activity against a number of coated viruses, such as Herpes, Chicken pox (Varicella), EBV and HIV. Its ability to significantly enhance natural killer cell activity also indicates that it can strengthen immunity during the cold and flu season, as well as help protect against formation and growth of abnormal cells. Furthermore, the ability to help maintain cardiovascular and gastric health indicates that fucoidan may be one of the most important substances ever derived from the sea. Finally, it is essential that the most pristine and organic source of fucoidan be used as a nutritional supplement, otherwise the active constituents will not be present in the pure and sufficient quantities to be biologically beneficial.
References
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