A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed
Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found in brown seaweed. Due to its reported biological activities, including antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, it has garnered significant attention for potential biomedical applications. However, the direct relationship between fucoidan...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| author | Matthew Chadwick Loïc G. Carvalho Carlos Vanegas Simone Dimartino |
| author_facet | Matthew Chadwick Loïc G. Carvalho Carlos Vanegas Simone Dimartino |
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| description | Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found in brown seaweed. Due to its reported biological activities, including antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, it has garnered significant attention for potential biomedical applications. However, the direct relationship between fucoidan extracts’ chemical structures and bioactivities is unclear, making it extremely challenging to predict whether an extract will possess a given bioactivity. This relationship is further complicated by a lack of uniformity in the recent literature in terms of the assessment and reporting of extract properties, yield and chemical composition (e.g., sulfate, fucose, uronic acid and monosaccharide contents). These inconsistencies pose significant challenges when directly comparing extraction techniques across studies. This review collected data on extract contents and properties from a selection of available studies. Where information was unavailable directly, efforts were made to extrapolate data. This approach enabled a comprehensive examination of the correlation between extraction techniques and the characteristics of the resulting extracts. A holistic framework is presented for the selection of fucoidan extraction methods, outlining key heuristics to consider when capturing the broader context of a seaweed bioprocess. Future work should focus on developing knowledge within these heuristic categories, such as the creation of technoeconomic models of each extraction process. This framework should allow for a robust extraction selection process that integrates process scale, cost and constraints into decision making. Key quality attributes for biologically active fucoidan are proposed, and areas for future research are identified, such as studies for specific bioactivities aimed at elucidating fucoidan’s mechanism of action. This review also sets out future work required to standardize the reporting of fucoidan extract data. Standardization could positively enhance the quality and depth of data on fucoidan extracts, enabling the relationships between physical, chemical and bioactive properties to be identified. Recommendations on best practices for the production of high-quality fucoidan with desirable yield, characteristics and bioactivity are highlighted. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-345ecc718fb44a8db09f7eec0b877e35 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Marine Drugs |
| spelling | doaj-art-345ecc718fb44a8db09f7eec0b877e352025-01-24T13:39:31ZengMDPI AGMarine Drugs1660-33972025-01-012312710.3390/md23010027A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from SeaweedMatthew Chadwick0Loïc G. Carvalho1Carlos Vanegas2Simone Dimartino3Institute for Bioengineering, The School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UKBioMara Ltd., 83 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2ER, UKBioMara Ltd., 83 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2ER, UKInstitute for Bioengineering, The School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3DW, UKFucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found in brown seaweed. Due to its reported biological activities, including antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities, it has garnered significant attention for potential biomedical applications. However, the direct relationship between fucoidan extracts’ chemical structures and bioactivities is unclear, making it extremely challenging to predict whether an extract will possess a given bioactivity. This relationship is further complicated by a lack of uniformity in the recent literature in terms of the assessment and reporting of extract properties, yield and chemical composition (e.g., sulfate, fucose, uronic acid and monosaccharide contents). These inconsistencies pose significant challenges when directly comparing extraction techniques across studies. This review collected data on extract contents and properties from a selection of available studies. Where information was unavailable directly, efforts were made to extrapolate data. This approach enabled a comprehensive examination of the correlation between extraction techniques and the characteristics of the resulting extracts. A holistic framework is presented for the selection of fucoidan extraction methods, outlining key heuristics to consider when capturing the broader context of a seaweed bioprocess. Future work should focus on developing knowledge within these heuristic categories, such as the creation of technoeconomic models of each extraction process. This framework should allow for a robust extraction selection process that integrates process scale, cost and constraints into decision making. Key quality attributes for biologically active fucoidan are proposed, and areas for future research are identified, such as studies for specific bioactivities aimed at elucidating fucoidan’s mechanism of action. This review also sets out future work required to standardize the reporting of fucoidan extract data. Standardization could positively enhance the quality and depth of data on fucoidan extracts, enabling the relationships between physical, chemical and bioactive properties to be identified. Recommendations on best practices for the production of high-quality fucoidan with desirable yield, characteristics and bioactivity are highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/23/1/27fucoidanseaweedextractionstructurebioactivity |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Chadwick Loïc G. Carvalho Carlos Vanegas Simone Dimartino A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed Marine Drugs fucoidan seaweed extraction structure bioactivity |
| title | A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed |
| title_full | A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed |
| title_fullStr | A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed |
| title_short | A Comparative Review of Alternative Fucoidan Extraction Techniques from Seaweed |
| title_sort | comparative review of alternative fucoidan extraction techniques from seaweed |
| topic | fucoidan seaweed extraction structure bioactivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/23/1/27 |
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