Fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus Tokida Added to Food Has No Adverse Effect on Availability for Absorption of Divalent Minerals in the Dynamic Multicompartmental Model of the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether the addition of fucoidan (Yakult Fucoidan) prepared from Cladosiphon okamuranus Tokida to food affects the availability of divalent minerals for intestinal absorption. After coadministration with a test meal into a dynamic multicompartmental model of the upper gastrointestinal tract (TIM-1), the availability for intestinal absorption (bioaccessibility) of minerals was evaluated. Fucoidan (0.033 and 0.1 g, corresponding to approximately 1.7 and 5.0 mg/kg body weight (BW) in humans) or two alginates (Cargill AlgogelTM and SatialgineTM, 3.0 g, corresponding to approximately 150 mg/kg BW in humans) suspended in 200 g water and added to 100 g test meal did not significantly decrease the bioaccessibility of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, and cobalt in comparison to the test meal without these gelling agents, except for calcium by 3.0 g Satialgine (p < 0.05). Positive control experiments with an unrealistically high dosage of fucoidan (3.0 g) significantly decreased the bioaccessibility of calcium, iron, zinc, and manganese and significantly enhanced the bioaccessibility of copper and cobalt (p < 0.05). It is concluded that the oral intake of the tested fucoidan at standard and high dosages in food has no adverse effect on divalent mineral absorption. Based on TIM-1 validation studies with minerals and metals in comparison to human studies, it is expected that these results may be extrapolated to the human situation.