5.7 Applications of Fucoidan
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5.7.8 Blood Anticoagulant
Although highly effective anticoagulant drugs already exist in the market, fucoidan
shows anticoagulant activities similar to heparin with potential to overcome the
limitation of heparin. One limitation to heparin’s antithrombotic effect is the risk
of hemorrhage when administered at levels required to attain antithrombotic effect.
Fucoidan extracted from Undaria pinnatifida achieved antithrombotic effect at safe
levels without similar risk of delayed blood clot when injected intravenously in
laboratory mice. However, as is known of the variation in the bioactivity of fucoidan,
that from another species, Fucus vesiculosus showed some increase in clotting time
(Min et al. 2011).
Studies on the anticoagulant property of fucoidans have found some correlation
between the structural properties of fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus and the anticoagulant property (Zhang et al. 2014a, b). This promises a step closer to standardized
fucoidan formulations which can be reproduced on a large scale. Minimum charge
density of 0.5 sulfates for every sugar unit and a degree of polymerization of 70 have
been shown to be the required parameters for fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus with
pro-coagulant property. Anticoagulant property of fucoidan from Laminaria japonica
showed molecular weight dependency as well as dependency on fucose to galactose
ratio within the polymer chain (Jin et al. 2014). Platelet aggregation activation by
fucoidans has also been reported in different studies (Manne et al. 2013; Dürig et al.
1997).
Fucoidans, therefore, have multiple bioactivities in terms of blood clotting and
coagulation; they can act as antithrombotic, anticoagulant and pro-coagulant. This
makes then applicable for the treatment of conditions such as hemophilia and airtravel-induced deep vein thrombosis. Fucoidans delivered orally and intravenously
from a variety of species have shown these properties. This further adds to the robust
applicability of fucoidan.
Other recent potential applications of fucoidans include application in the treatment of type 2 diabetes through inhibiting the breakdown of starch into sugar in the
body by inhibiting the action of the enzymes, amylase and glucosidase, which are
responsible for catalyzing the hydrolysis of starch into glucose (Senthil et al. 2019) or
through other mechanisms like improving effectiveness of insulin, as demonstrated
in experiments with mice (Sim et al. 2019). Fucoidans are also being investigated
for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by acting as a neuroprotector (Alghazwi et al.
2019). These applications vary for fucoidan fractions from different sources.
In general, the bioactive properties of fucoidan, some of which are listed in
Table 5.3, occur in a wide range of species. Applications of fucoidan for these
bioactivities range from anticancer drug or adjuvant to antipathogenic agents. Successful commercialization of fucoidan in medicinal applications poses significant
economic and social impact in terms of providing an easily accessible raw material
for such fucoidan-based therapeutics, a natural source which is less likely to result
in undesirable or serious side effects and less costly drug development compared to
synthetic-sourced alternatives.
113
5.7.8 Blood Anticoagulant
Although highly effective anticoagulant drugs already exist in the market, fucoidan
shows anticoagulant activities similar to heparin with potential to overcome the
limitation of heparin. One limitation to heparin’s antithrombotic effect is the risk
of hemorrhage when administered at levels required to attain antithrombotic effect.
Fucoidan extracted from Undaria pinnatifida achieved antithrombotic effect at safe
levels without similar risk of delayed blood clot when injected intravenously in
laboratory mice. However, as is known of the variation in the bioactivity of fucoidan,
that from another species, Fucus vesiculosus showed some increase in clotting time
(Min et al. 2011).
Studies on the anticoagulant property of fucoidans have found some correlation
between the structural properties of fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus and the anticoagulant property (Zhang et al. 2014a, b). This promises a step closer to standardized
fucoidan formulations which can be reproduced on a large scale. Minimum charge
density of 0.5 sulfates for every sugar unit and a degree of polymerization of 70 have
been shown to be the required parameters for fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus with
pro-coagulant property. Anticoagulant property of fucoidan from Laminaria japonica
showed molecular weight dependency as well as dependency on fucose to galactose
ratio within the polymer chain (Jin et al. 2014). Platelet aggregation activation by
fucoidans has also been reported in different studies (Manne et al. 2013; Dürig et al.
1997).
Fucoidans, therefore, have multiple bioactivities in terms of blood clotting and
coagulation; they can act as antithrombotic, anticoagulant and pro-coagulant. This
makes then applicable for the treatment of conditions such as hemophilia and airtravel-induced deep vein thrombosis. Fucoidans delivered orally and intravenously
from a variety of species have shown these properties. This further adds to the robust
applicability of fucoidan.
Other recent potential applications of fucoidans include application in the treatment of type 2 diabetes through inhibiting the breakdown of starch into sugar in the
body by inhibiting the action of the enzymes, amylase and glucosidase, which are
responsible for catalyzing the hydrolysis of starch into glucose (Senthil et al. 2019) or
through other mechanisms like improving effectiveness of insulin, as demonstrated
in experiments with mice (Sim et al. 2019). Fucoidans are also being investigated
for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by acting as a neuroprotector (Alghazwi et al.
2019). These applications vary for fucoidan fractions from different sources.
In general, the bioactive properties of fucoidan, some of which are listed in
Table 5.3, occur in a wide range of species. Applications of fucoidan for these
bioactivities range from anticancer drug or adjuvant to antipathogenic agents. Successful commercialization of fucoidan in medicinal applications poses significant
economic and social impact in terms of providing an easily accessible raw material
for such fucoidan-based therapeutics, a natural source which is less likely to result
in undesirable or serious side effects and less costly drug development compared to
synthetic-sourced alternatives.