Chapter 5
Fucoidan
Abstract Fucoidan is extracted from brown algae and echinoderms, most commonly, sea cucumber. It is a heteropolymer with fucose as its main repeating unit.
However, a variety of monomers and functional groups are also present within its
polymer chain. The presence of sulfate groups is attributed to many of its bioactive properties. The extracts are highly polydisperse; therefore, additional processes
are often required to obtain fucoidan with uniform molecular weight. The molecular weight, degree of sulfation and monomeric unit vary significantly with species,
extraction method and growth parameters of the organisms. This diversity of fucoidan
also limits its pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. This chapter discusses
the processes involved in fucoidan production, its chemical structure, environmental
issues associated with fucoidan production, applications and industrial significance.
Keywords Fucoidan · Sulfated · Polysaccharide · Fucus · Echinoderms
5.1 Introduction
Fucoidan refers to a group of sulfated polysaccharides made up of mainly fucose
alongside deoxy sugars and other monosaccharides with varying levels of branching and acetylation. They are commonly found in brown algae and echinoderms
such as sea cucumber and sea urchins (Berteau and Mulloy 2003). Although there is
yet much unknown about the exact structure of these fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharides, the broad range of potential applications which have been demonstrated
by fucoidans provide very promising prospects, particularly in the biomedical and
pharmaceutical industries. While fucoidans have gained approval as functional foods
commercially available as supplements with health benefits marketed including cancer prevention, the limitation in their advancement for clinical use, despite findings that fucoidans possess such bioactivities, lies in the variation in the chemical
structures which result in a variation in the bioactivity of fucoidans from different
sources, seasons, fractions and extraction forms as well as expensive purification
requirements. Current research efforts are therefore exploring different approaches
to address these limitations. Such attempts toward developing standard fucoidans
include purification techniques, development of axenic cell culture for production
© Springer International Publishing 2020
O. Olatunji, Aquatic Biopolymers, Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34709-3_5
95
Fucoidan
Abstract Fucoidan is extracted from brown algae and echinoderms, most commonly, sea cucumber. It is a heteropolymer with fucose as its main repeating unit.
However, a variety of monomers and functional groups are also present within its
polymer chain. The presence of sulfate groups is attributed to many of its bioactive properties. The extracts are highly polydisperse; therefore, additional processes
are often required to obtain fucoidan with uniform molecular weight. The molecular weight, degree of sulfation and monomeric unit vary significantly with species,
extraction method and growth parameters of the organisms. This diversity of fucoidan
also limits its pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. This chapter discusses
the processes involved in fucoidan production, its chemical structure, environmental
issues associated with fucoidan production, applications and industrial significance.
Keywords Fucoidan · Sulfated · Polysaccharide · Fucus · Echinoderms
5.1 Introduction
Fucoidan refers to a group of sulfated polysaccharides made up of mainly fucose
alongside deoxy sugars and other monosaccharides with varying levels of branching and acetylation. They are commonly found in brown algae and echinoderms
such as sea cucumber and sea urchins (Berteau and Mulloy 2003). Although there is
yet much unknown about the exact structure of these fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharides, the broad range of potential applications which have been demonstrated
by fucoidans provide very promising prospects, particularly in the biomedical and
pharmaceutical industries. While fucoidans have gained approval as functional foods
commercially available as supplements with health benefits marketed including cancer prevention, the limitation in their advancement for clinical use, despite findings that fucoidans possess such bioactivities, lies in the variation in the chemical
structures which result in a variation in the bioactivity of fucoidans from different
sources, seasons, fractions and extraction forms as well as expensive purification
requirements. Current research efforts are therefore exploring different approaches
to address these limitations. Such attempts toward developing standard fucoidans
include purification techniques, development of axenic cell culture for production
© Springer International Publishing 2020
O. Olatunji, Aquatic Biopolymers, Springer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34709-3_5
95