Study on the Health Benefits of Brown Algae (<i>Sargassum muticum</i>) in Volunteers

Abstract

A randomized clinical trial enrolling healthy volunteers was carried out to evaluate the effects of S. muticum supplementation. An experiment was conducted to investigate whether intake of S. muticum could exert beneficial effects on human health. Volunteers were asked to consume dried encapsulated S. muticum 4.8 grams daily for 4 weeks. Analysis was made on several parameters including blood lipid profile, stress hormone level, fatigue status, liver functions, and lymphocyte subpopulation level, before and after consumption of the S. muticum capsuls. Fifty-one subjects were able to complete this study. Oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) decreased 14% from the baseline level of 6.0±1.4 μg/mL to 5.1±1.6 μg/mL, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). There was a correlation between decreased ox-LDL levels and increased total antioxidant status (TAS) levels after S. muticum intake. There was a remarkable increase in natural killer (NK) lymphocyte count, but changes in the mean absolute lymphocyte subsets were unremarkable. Healthy subjects showed significant improvement of biomarkers of fatigue and liver functions, such lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). These results suggest that S. muticum may have potential beneficial effects as a healthy food supplement through its antioxidant, hepatoprotective and immunologic functions.

High-value products from macroalgae: the potential uses of the invasive brown seaweed, Sargassum muticum

“…However, a British company, Haeckles, is exploring the production of a nutritional drink based on seaweed found on the Kent coast including S. muticum (Bridges, Haeckles private communication 2015), and S. muticum has been suggested as a general nutraceutical for the prevention and treatment of cancer due to the presence of antioxidants, antimicrobial and antitumor compounds within it (Namvar et al 2013). A study using S. muticum as a dietary supplement found that it produced a 14 % reduction in blood low-density lipoprotein (believed to be a major contributor to atherosclerosis) and an increase in natural killer NK lymphocytes (Park et al 2015). However, considerable care should be taken in the use of seaweeds for food since brown macroalgae, including S. muticum, contain much higher levels of absorbed heavy metals than terrestrial plants (Carro et al 2015;Lodeiro et al 2004;Ungureanu et al 2015).…”

Seasonal Composition of Lipids, Fatty Acids Pigments in the Brown Alga &lt;i&gt;Sargassum pallidum&lt;/i&gt;: The Potential for Health

“…In the last decade, many researchers paid attention to Sargassum sp. from nutritional point of view [6]- [11]. Certain species as S. fusiforme, S. horneri, S. pallidum, and S. thunbergii used in herbal medicine [12].…”

Microalgae, Seaweeds and Aquatic Bacteria, Archaea, and Yeasts: Sources of Carotenoids with Potential Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Health-Promoting Actions in the Sustainability Era

“…An extensive body of work in vitro has been published to evaluate this and other seaweed-derived carotenoids, with some described in Section 5 [ 139 , 172 , 173 ]. There are a few additional studies with whole seaweed and mixed extracts, which also provide valuable information on the effects of dietary intake of seaweed [ 174 , 175 ]. During uptake, fucoxanthin is metabolized to fucoxanthinol and amarouciaxanthin A, which were found in the adipose tissue, kidney, heart, lung, and spleen of mice [ 176 , 177 ].…”