Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.3 billion people will be overweight and 700 million obese in 2015. The reasons for this disastrous trend are attributed to the global tendency toward the reduced magnitude of exercise and physical activity and the increased dietary intake of fats, sugars and calories with reduced amount of vitamins and minerals. To prevent life-style-related diseases, like Metabolic Syndrome (MS), researchers’ attention is increasingly focusing on some of the so called “functional foods” which may be useful for their prevention and treatment. One of these functional ingredients is fucoxanthin (FX), a characteristic carotenoid present in edible brown seaweeds, such as Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame), Hijikia fusiformis (Hijiki), Laminaria japonica (Ma-Kombu) and Sargassum fulvellum. The increasing popularity of this molecule is certainly due to its anti-obesity effect, primarily detected by murine studies. These works revealed FX mediated induction of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) in abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) mitochondria, leading to the oxidation of fatty acids and heat production in WAT. Beyond this important role, in recent studies FX has shown a great antioxidant activity, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-photoaging properties. The aim of this review is to highlight the main effects of FX on human health.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, and other chronic diseases are nowadays the most frequent causes of death
Amarouciaxanthin A is stored in abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT), fucoxanthinol in other tissues
Another role of carotenoids as antioxidants is attributed to their scavenging of free radicals (FRs), which steal an electron from the carotenoid or form an adduct with it
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, and other chronic diseases are nowadays the most frequent causes of death They all share a multifactorial origin and are caused by a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and personal life style [1]. For this reason an exclusively pharmacological treatment is not always sufficient and, among other factors, nutrition plays a vital contributory or protective role [2]. There has been a rapid increase in the incidence of obesity in developed countries such as Europe and USA, and in developing countries, and it is estimated that in 2015 the number of overweight people will be 2.3 billion and thereof 700 million obese people. Researchers are focusing on many functional ingredients in foods which may be useful for the prevention and treatment of life-style-related diseases [3], among them fucoxanthin (FX)
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