Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ingesting fucoidan derived from Okinawa mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus) on natural killer (NK) cell activity and to assess its safety in healthy adults via a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled pilot study. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups—a placebo group (ingesting citric acid, sucralose, and caramel beverages; n = 20; 45.5 ± 7.8 years (mean ± standard deviation)) and a fucoidan group (3.0 g/day from beverages; n = 20; 47.0 ± 7.6 years); after 12 weeks, blood, biochemical, and immunological tests were performed. Clinically adverse events were not observed in any of the tests during the study period. In addition, adverse events due to the test food were not observed. In the immunological tests, NK cell activity was significantly enhanced at 8 weeks in the fucoidan group, compared to before ingestion (0 weeks). In addition, a significantly enhanced NK cell activity was observed in male subjects at 8 weeks, compared with the placebo group. These results confirm that Okinawa mozuku-derived fucoidan enhances NK cell activity and suggest that it is a safe food material.
Highlights
In a previous study [16], we reported that the frequency of mozuku intake affects the absorption of fucoidan and the negativity of Helicobacter pylori antibody titers
The study started with 20 subjects in the fucoidan and placebo groups; one subject in the fucoidan group did not appear on the examination day after 8 weeks and could not be contacted
In the fucoidan group, statistical analysis was performed with 20 subjects up to 4 weeks and 19 subjects after 8 weeks (Figure 1)
Summary
Fucoidan is a general term for the sulfated polysaccharides contained in brown algae, the chemical structure of which differs depending on the seaweed species [1]. Edible seaweeds such as Kombu (Kjellmaniella crassifolia), Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), and Okinawa mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus) are the main raw materials for fucoidan in Japan. Previous studies of Okinawa mozukuderived fucoidan have reported its anticoagulant [2], anti-inflammatory [2], antiviral [3,4,5], anti-HTLV-1 [6,7], antitumor [8,9], antihepatitis [10], and antiulcer [11] effects. Previous studies have reported the immune effects of fucoidan
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