Dr. Susana Trujillo is a Naturopathic Doctor with great interest in the research of Fucoidan.

If water, and particularly sea water is considered essential to life and to our planet, then all the substances necessary for the development of human beings (minerals, vitamins, amino acids, etc.) are of great importance as well. Oceans cover over 70% of Earth, being home to up to 90% of the organisms in the planet. Many important and essential resources are provided by the ocean. Additionally, bioactive compounds like Fucoidan is obtained from brown seaweeds like Mekabu (Undaria pinnatifida) and Fucus (Fucus vesiculosus) that grow in pristine ocean waters. Fucoidan has a great potential to be used as a nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and in dietary supplements. In brown seaweeds, polysaccharides like Fucoidan are active ingredients and they are of great importance in human health.

Fucoidans contain substantial contents of l-fucose and sulfate ester groups, which are constituents of brown seaweeds.  Fucoidans from several species of brown seaweeds have a complex chemical composition, which contains fucose and sulfate, other monosaccharides (mannose, galactose, glucose, xylose, etc.) uronic acids, and even acetyl groups and protein. Fucoidans has shown to have a wide spectrum of biological effects, such as immune enhancing, antioxidant functions and others.

When it comes to seaweeds and particularly brown seaweeds, there are two types referred to as natural and Organic. The term ‘organic’ is used to describe brown seaweeds that are grown without the use of most artificial fertilizers or pesticides. At the same time, there are several commonly used methods to extract Fucoidan, including water extraction, acid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasonication extraction, and enzyme-assisted extraction. In the case of the Organic form of Fucoidan, water-extraction is the best option to ensure that the life of the ocean is maintained.

Organic certification bodies appoint inspectors to visit the facilities and check that, for example, the brown seaweeds are harvested by sustainably conscious harvesters that have secured a license from environmental protection agencies in the respective countries. The water where the brown seaweeds are harvested from are tested on a weekly basis for bacteria such as Listeria and Salmonella.

Fucoidans occur naturally in the cell walls of brown seaweeds. Their main function is to defend the plant from pathogens and other environmental pollutants. The benefit of using Organic Fucoidan is to provide the consumers with the most effective form of Fucoidan for their dietary and/or cosmeceutical products. The health benefits of Fucoidan and its medicinal properties have been particularly used for conditions like immune deficiencies, gastrointestinal problems, inflammation and others. Therefore, providing the highest purity of Fucoidan and being educated about the differences between natural and Organic is significantly important.

It is very important to keep in mind that not all Fucoidans are the same. There are Fucoidans obtained from Mekabu (Undaria pinnatifida), Fucus (Fucus vesiculosus) and others. Mekabu Fucoidan can be obtained in its Organic form from the pristine ocean waters of Patagonia and Tasmania. Fucus Fucoidan is a highly characterized ingredient that grows in the pure ocean waters of Nova Scotia and Brittany, where it is harvested on an environmentally sustainable basis. Besides the location where they are obtained from, Fucoidan from Fucus and Mekabu Fucoidan have shown in several studies to enhance the immune system by inducing macrophage activation.

Fucoidans have shown to provide several beneficial health effects in a range of conditions depending on the species from which the Fucoidan is obtained from, and the extraction method is also something that is important to characterized them. Fucoidan offers a positive effect by effectively enhancing the immune system. These two factors are the best way to determine the efficacy of the Fucoidan extract selected, whether they come from Mekabu or Fucus. Traditional methods of extracting Fucoidan from the brown seaweeds, like the ones mentioned above, compromise the effectiveness of Fucoidan.

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