FUCUS - KING OF THE BROWN ALGAE

According to a report published in 2012 by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicines (EMA), Fucus vesiculosus contains polysaccharides fucoidan and laminarin, found only in brown algae, alginic acid and its salts, more than 20 different plant-based micro and macro elements, vitamins, polyphenols, pigments, lipids, amino acids, carbohydrates and fats.

Fucus from the Arctic Ocean waters among all spices of brown seaweed contains the maximum amount of fucoidan and antioxidants.

The significance of Fucus is also due to the fact that its salt composition is very close to the composition of human blood plasma and tissue fluid. Fucus contains an almost complete and well-balanced set of chemical elements that are easily absorbed, since they are in an organically bound form.

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WHAT IS FUCOIDAN?

All brown algae are characterized by the formation of sulfated polysaccharides - fucoidans.

Fucus vesiculosus is especially rich in Fucoidan, it's concentration can be up to 26% of the dry weight.

Fucoidan protects algae from drying out and the harmful effects of UV rays during periods of low tide, and also plays the role of a regulator of water and water-salt metabolism.

This polysaccharide is found only in algae and is not typical for terrestrial plants, which makes it unique! 

Fucoidan was first isolated in 1913 and since then it has been actively studied at institutes in Japan, Russia  and United States.


OKINAWA, THE LOWEST INDEX OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND ONCOLOGICAL DISEASES

Although seaweed has been used in cooking and medicine for centuries, greater interest in the nutraceutical potential of seaweed was aroused in the early 2000s after research on the influence of nutrition on the state of the cardiovascular system in the Japanese island population Okinawa.

The "centennial concentration index" on the island is 2 times higher than in all of Japan. The islander population has the world's lowest death rate from cardiovascular and cancer diseases.

The key health and longevity factor is the use of brown and red algae with minimal heat treatment for feeding. The data served as the beginning of an in-depth study of chemical and biological properties of algae, characteristics of the influence of the compounds contained in them on the human body.

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Clinical researches and scientific articles:

Sulfated polysaccharides effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.

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.

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Health benefits of fucoxanthin in the prevention of chronic disease.

Fucoxanthin is a xanthophyll carotenoid abundant in macroalgae, such as brown seaweeds. When fucoxanthin is consumed, it can be esterified or hydrolyzed to fucoxanthinol in the gastrointestinal tract and further converted into amarouciaxanthin A in the liver. It has a unique chemical structure that confers its biological effects.

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Fucoidan extracts ameliorate acute colitis.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, are an important cause of morbidity and impact significantly on quality of life. Overall, current treatments do not sustain a long-term clinical remission and are associated with adverse effects, which highlight the need for new treatment options. Fucoidans are complex sulphated, fucose-rich polysaccharides, found in edible brown algae and are described as having multiple bioactivities including potent anti-inflammatory effects.

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Review: prospects for the use of extracts and polysaccharides from marine algae to prevent and treat the diseases caused by Helicobacter pylori.

In recent years, fucoidans have been extensively studied due to the numerous interesting biological activities, including the anti-adhesive, anti-oxidative, antitoxic, immunomodulatory, anticoagulant, and anti-infection effects. This review summarizes the data on the effects of extracts and sulfated polysaccharides of marine algae, mainly fucoidans, on pathogenic targets in Helicobacter infection.

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Biological Activities of Fucoidan and the Factors mediating Therapeutic Effects: A Review of Recent Studies.

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.

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Supplementation of Elderly Japanese Men and Women with Fucoidan from Seaweed Increases Immune Responses to Seasonal Influenza Vaccination.

The elderly are known to have an inadequate immune response to influenza vaccine. Mekabu fucoidan (MF), a sulfated
polysaccharide extracted from seaweed, was previously shown to have an immunomodulatory effect. We therefore
investigated antibody production after influenza vaccination in elderly Japanese men and women with and without oral MF
intake.

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