96
5 Fucoidan
of fucoidans with controlled chemical structure and development of enzymes for
hydrolysis of fucoidans toward controlling of molecular weight and attaining better
understanding of fucoidan structure.
Brown algae which serve as the main known source of fucoidan production are
relatively available but are also used in direct consumption as food and production
of other polysaccharides of commercial value such that fucoidan is not a main priority extract presently. Strategies to promote commercial-scale fucoidan production
from algae could be developing special strains with increased fucoidan content for
commercial fucoidan production.
The fact that the structural variation in fucoidans results in variation of bioactivity provides opportunity for tuning fucoidan bioactivity for improved specificity
of fucoidan-based drugs. This is only achievable after gaining a full understanding of the structure of fucoidan and mapping out the correlation between factors
such as source and extraction methods on the chemical properties such as molecular
weight, branching, monomeric structure, acetylation and sulfation. In the present
state of technology on fucoidans, these parameters vary with no particular identified
correlation or trend.
Sea cucumbers which are increasing in demand particularly in China are now
declining in population in different seas. In China, they are no longer available in the
sea, while in the coastal areas in countries like Madagascar, they are fast declining
in population. They usually inhabit the epipelagic (sunlight) zone of the sea which
makes them a relatively easy catch for fishers who can simply dive into catch them.
They are very valuable for their bioactive properties which can be attributed to the
fucoidan content among other compounds such as lactones and triterpenes (Qin et al.
2018).
Understanding the active compounds in these sea cucumbers such as fucoidan as
being present in other more available resources such as brown algae could decrease
the pressure on sea cucumber by providing more sources for the same active compound which yields the same health benefits. To this end, this chapter explores
fucoidan, another valuable aquatic biopolymer.
5.2 Occurrence in Nature
Fucoidan can be regarded as a relatively recently discovered and naturally occurring biopolymer. Unlike, for example, cellulose, which has been in use for centuries,
fucoidan appeared in the literature for the first time in 1913 (Kylin 1913). Fucoidan
occurs in the extracellular matrix of brown algae and marine invertebrates, where
it plays important biological functions such as maintaining cell wall integrity, tissue hydration, aiding in communications between cells, regulating osmotic pressure and serving as a defense mechanism for the organism (Deniaud-Bouët et al.
2017). Fucoidan distinguishes from the other biopolymers in the ECM of brown
algae—alginates and cellulose as the sulfated fucose-rich polysaccharide. Like other
5 Fucoidan
of fucoidans with controlled chemical structure and development of enzymes for
hydrolysis of fucoidans toward controlling of molecular weight and attaining better
understanding of fucoidan structure.
Brown algae which serve as the main known source of fucoidan production are
relatively available but are also used in direct consumption as food and production
of other polysaccharides of commercial value such that fucoidan is not a main priority extract presently. Strategies to promote commercial-scale fucoidan production
from algae could be developing special strains with increased fucoidan content for
commercial fucoidan production.
The fact that the structural variation in fucoidans results in variation of bioactivity provides opportunity for tuning fucoidan bioactivity for improved specificity
of fucoidan-based drugs. This is only achievable after gaining a full understanding of the structure of fucoidan and mapping out the correlation between factors
such as source and extraction methods on the chemical properties such as molecular
weight, branching, monomeric structure, acetylation and sulfation. In the present
state of technology on fucoidans, these parameters vary with no particular identified
correlation or trend.
Sea cucumbers which are increasing in demand particularly in China are now
declining in population in different seas. In China, they are no longer available in the
sea, while in the coastal areas in countries like Madagascar, they are fast declining
in population. They usually inhabit the epipelagic (sunlight) zone of the sea which
makes them a relatively easy catch for fishers who can simply dive into catch them.
They are very valuable for their bioactive properties which can be attributed to the
fucoidan content among other compounds such as lactones and triterpenes (Qin et al.
2018).
Understanding the active compounds in these sea cucumbers such as fucoidan as
being present in other more available resources such as brown algae could decrease
the pressure on sea cucumber by providing more sources for the same active compound which yields the same health benefits. To this end, this chapter explores
fucoidan, another valuable aquatic biopolymer.
5.2 Occurrence in Nature
Fucoidan can be regarded as a relatively recently discovered and naturally occurring biopolymer. Unlike, for example, cellulose, which has been in use for centuries,
fucoidan appeared in the literature for the first time in 1913 (Kylin 1913). Fucoidan
occurs in the extracellular matrix of brown algae and marine invertebrates, where
it plays important biological functions such as maintaining cell wall integrity, tissue hydration, aiding in communications between cells, regulating osmotic pressure and serving as a defense mechanism for the organism (Deniaud-Bouët et al.
2017). Fucoidan distinguishes from the other biopolymers in the ECM of brown
algae—alginates and cellulose as the sulfated fucose-rich polysaccharide. Like other