Antioxidant and Antisteatotic Activities of Fucoidan Fractions from Marine and Terrestrial Sources

Abstract

Fucoidan is a fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharide typically found in the cell wall of marine algae but also recently isolated from terrestrial sources. Due to a variety of biological activities, including antioxidant properties, fucoidan exhibits an attractive therapeutic potential against a wide array of metabolic diseases associated with oxidative stress. We used FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy to investigate the structural features of a fucoidan fraction extracted from the brown alga Cystoseira compressa (CYS). The antioxidant potential of CYS was measured by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays, which revealed a radical scavenging capacity that was confirmed in in vitro cellular models of hepatic and endothelial cells. The same antioxidant effects were observed for another fucoidan fraction previously identified in the terrestrial tree Eucalyptus globulus (EUC). Moreover, in hepatic cells, CYS and EUC exhibited a significant antisteatotic action, being able to reduce intracellular triglyceride content through the regulation of key genes of hepatic lipid metabolism. EUC exerted stronger antioxidant and antisteatotic effects as compared to CYS, suggesting that both marine and terrestrial sources should be considered for fucoidan extraction and therapeutic applications.

Antioxidant Activity and Inhibition of Liver Cancer Cells’ Growth of Extracts from 14 Marine Macroalgae Species of the Mediterranean Sea

“…These polysaccharides consisted mainly of galactose, ribose, arabinose, and glucose [ 95 ]. In addition, the antioxidant activity of C. compressa ’s extracts was attributed to polysaccharides such as fucoidan and monosaccharides such as fucose, galactose, and mannose [ 96 ]. In C. fragile , sulfated polysaccharides, which are mainly linear homopolymers comprising ß-1.4-linked D-mannose residues, were shown to possess antioxidant activity by promoting survival while decreasing ROS, cell mortality, and lipid peroxidation in a zebrafish experimental model [ 97 ].…”

First Evidence of Anti-Steatotic Action of Macrotympanain A1, an Amphibian Skin Peptide from Odorrana macrotympana

“…Having been shown to be safe for cell viability, the concentration of 10 μg/mL MA1 and the time interval of 24 h were selected for further experiments. Twenty-four hours was also the optimal incubation interval for investigating the anti-steatotic effects of compounds in this in vitro model [ 19 , 20 , 25 ].…”

“…In this scenario, we employed a well-established in vitro model of fatty liver consisting in fat-enriched FaO rat hepatoma cells that can be treated with potential anti-steatotic compounds [ 19 , 20 ]. By using this model, we have been able to demonstrate for the first time a significant anti-steatotic effect of an amphibian peptide such as MA1.…”

The Ocean’s Pharmacy: Health Discoveries in Marine Algae

“…The literature search yielded only two cell assay experiments that fulfil the inclusion criteria of this review, both investigating the liver promoting activity of purified compounds (fucoidan and fucoxanthin) derived from macroalgae. The fucoidan (50 µg/mL) derived from Cystoseira compressa showed antisteatotic action by modulating the lipogenesis pathway (PPARy) and decreasing intracellular triglyceride content in FaO cells stimulated by oleate and palmitate [143]. The other macroalgae compound, fucoxanthin (25 and 50 µM), was able to mitigate zearalenone-induced hepatotoxicity by decreasing inflammation (less production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) and oxidative stress (by reducing ROS production and upregulating the PI3K/AKT/NRF2 signaling pathways) in hepatocytes (HepG2 cells) [144].…”