5.7 Applications of Fucoidan
109
The side effects associated with chemotherapy drug cisplatin, such as weight loss
and changes in levels of hormones gastrin and serotonin, were prevented with similar
effectiveness as drugs which are used for such purpose (Zuo et al. 2015), proving that
fucoidan can act as an adjunct to anticancer drugs for reducing or eliminating the side
effects associated with such drugs. This will contribute significantly to improving
the patients’ quality of life during such treatments.
As an adjunct therapy, fucoidan could work in synergy with conventional
chemotherapy and radiotherapy for improved treatment effectiveness (Zhang et al.
2014a). However, this is still under investigation as other studies also suggest that
fucoidan could have antagonistic effects on conventional cancer therapy (Oh et al.
2014). This could be attributed to the wide variation in the structure, hence bioactivities of fucoidans for different sources. Therefore, further investigations are required
to validate this concept of fucoidan as an adjunct cancer therapy.
At a recommended dose of 4.0 g per day, human subjects ingesting fucoidan
from the Cladosiphon okamuranus species during chemotherapy treatment of unresectable colon cancer showed improved tolerance of repeated rounds of chemotherapy compared to those who were not taking fucoidan. The patients taking fucoidan
also showed less chemotherapy-related fatigue as it is common in cancer therapy
(Azuma et al. 2012; Ikeguchi et al. 2011). Studies on mice, given the equivalent
dosage of fucoidan, also showed reduced fatigue during exercise. This was attributed
to increased levels of glucose in the serum for energy and decreased levels of ammonia, lactate and triglycerides which could cause stress in the cells (Chen et al. 2015).
The relationship between reduced fatigue and fucoidan ingestion still requires further
research to understand the mechanism and extent.
Fucoidan, therefore, shows some bioactivities either as a sole anticancer therapeutic agent, as an adjunct to use along with conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy
or to abate the side effects associated with cancer therapy, or as a preventive agent
against cancer initiation or proliferation. These have been shown in studies in cell
cultures, in animal models and in humans against various cancers such as breast,
prostate, lung and liver cancers. While these are very promising, the limitations lie in
the broad variation in structure and bioactivities of fucoidan from different sources
as well as the variation in the different types of cancers. Such that, the successful
application of fucoidan for cancer awaits further development in both understanding
of cancer and fucoidan variation from species to species.
5.7.3 Drug Delivery Agent
As a biopolymeric material, fucoidans have demonstrated potential for use as drug
delivery compounds. Doxorubicin, an anticancer drug, showed better treatment
against multidrug resistance cancer cells when loaded onto fucoidan nanoparticles
compared with the drug in its free form (Lee et al. 2013a, b). The heterogeneous
polysaccharide structure of fucoidan makes it potentially robust such that various
109
The side effects associated with chemotherapy drug cisplatin, such as weight loss
and changes in levels of hormones gastrin and serotonin, were prevented with similar
effectiveness as drugs which are used for such purpose (Zuo et al. 2015), proving that
fucoidan can act as an adjunct to anticancer drugs for reducing or eliminating the side
effects associated with such drugs. This will contribute significantly to improving
the patients’ quality of life during such treatments.
As an adjunct therapy, fucoidan could work in synergy with conventional
chemotherapy and radiotherapy for improved treatment effectiveness (Zhang et al.
2014a). However, this is still under investigation as other studies also suggest that
fucoidan could have antagonistic effects on conventional cancer therapy (Oh et al.
2014). This could be attributed to the wide variation in the structure, hence bioactivities of fucoidans for different sources. Therefore, further investigations are required
to validate this concept of fucoidan as an adjunct cancer therapy.
At a recommended dose of 4.0 g per day, human subjects ingesting fucoidan
from the Cladosiphon okamuranus species during chemotherapy treatment of unresectable colon cancer showed improved tolerance of repeated rounds of chemotherapy compared to those who were not taking fucoidan. The patients taking fucoidan
also showed less chemotherapy-related fatigue as it is common in cancer therapy
(Azuma et al. 2012; Ikeguchi et al. 2011). Studies on mice, given the equivalent
dosage of fucoidan, also showed reduced fatigue during exercise. This was attributed
to increased levels of glucose in the serum for energy and decreased levels of ammonia, lactate and triglycerides which could cause stress in the cells (Chen et al. 2015).
The relationship between reduced fatigue and fucoidan ingestion still requires further
research to understand the mechanism and extent.
Fucoidan, therefore, shows some bioactivities either as a sole anticancer therapeutic agent, as an adjunct to use along with conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy
or to abate the side effects associated with cancer therapy, or as a preventive agent
against cancer initiation or proliferation. These have been shown in studies in cell
cultures, in animal models and in humans against various cancers such as breast,
prostate, lung and liver cancers. While these are very promising, the limitations lie in
the broad variation in structure and bioactivities of fucoidan from different sources
as well as the variation in the different types of cancers. Such that, the successful
application of fucoidan for cancer awaits further development in both understanding
of cancer and fucoidan variation from species to species.
5.7.3 Drug Delivery Agent
As a biopolymeric material, fucoidans have demonstrated potential for use as drug
delivery compounds. Doxorubicin, an anticancer drug, showed better treatment
against multidrug resistance cancer cells when loaded onto fucoidan nanoparticles
compared with the drug in its free form (Lee et al. 2013a, b). The heterogeneous
polysaccharide structure of fucoidan makes it potentially robust such that various