• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2011

Volatile components of crude fucoidan and its raw material, Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls were identified by GC/MSD analysis, and the effects of a combined method of solvent extraction and drying (hot-air drying or spray drying) on deordorization of fucoidans were examined. The major components of seaweed smell (odor) in crude fucoidan and Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls were identified as alkanes (octadecane, heptadecane, tetradecane) and acids (hexadecanoic acid, oleic acid). Solvent extraction and drying were combined for the deordorization of fucoidans: hot-air drying/deordorization process (HDDP) and spray drying/deordorization process (SDDP). The deordorization effects of solvent extraction using solvents including water, ethanol, and acetone were investigated. Among the tested solvents, ethanol was selected as a deordorization solvent, because the seaweed smell and taste were mostly lowered by ethanol extraction followed by drying. In addition, HDDP and SDDP were compared, showing that SDDP gave higher sensory characteristics than HDDP. When the crude fucoidan was treated by ethanol extraction for 30 min followed by SDDP, approximately 60% of off-flavor components of crude fucoidan was removed based on GC/MSD peak area, and the total sugar and sulfate contents and APTT-anticoagulant activity significantly increased compared to crude fucoidan. In conclusion, SDDP after ethanol treatment was proposed and established as a deordorization process for fucoidan preparation.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.515-520
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• 2001

The anticoagulant activities of fucoidan fractions extracted from Sporophylls of Undaria pinnatifida, Laminaria religiosa, Hizikia fusiforme and Sargassum fulvellum were studied to assess the relationship between chemical characteristics and the activities. Crude fucoidans extracted with diluted HCl solution (pH 2.0) at $65^{\circ}C$ were precipitated with cetylpyridinum chloride and then fractionated by dissolving the precipitated complex with increasing $CaCl_2$, concentrations (1.0 M, 1.5 M, 3.0 M). The anticoagulant activities of the fractions with respect to activated partial thromboplastin (APTT) increased with increase in their sulfate content and Undaria finnatifida Fr-3.0 fraction, prepared by dissolving with 3.0 M $CaCl_2$ solution, exhibited the highest activity. The Undaria finnatifida Fr-3.0 fraction was further modified with pronase and laminase. The pronase and laminase treatment decreased protein and glucose content and the APTT activity was higher than that or parent Undaria finnatifida Fr-3.0 fraction. The pronase and laminase modified Undaria finnatifida Fr-3.0 was composed of fucose, galactose, mannose, sulfate, uronic acid in the approximately molar ratio of 1.00 : 1.30: 0.03 : 2.70 : 0.08.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.344-348
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• 2005

Fucoidans, high-molecular-weight sulfated polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweeds, have various biological activities. Here we examined whether fucoidan could ncrease the immunomodulation and proliferation capacity of cells in vitro. When peritoneal macrophages were treated with various concentrations of fucoidan $(1\~100{\mu}g/mL)$ for 24 hours, NO production was significantly increased. In addition, exposure of macrophages to $10{\mu}g/mL$ of fucoidan induced a phagocytic activity. Treatment of neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-SH) with fucoidan enhanced cell proliferation and NO production in a concentration-dependent manner. These results indicate that fucoidan has both immunomodulatory and cell proliferative properties, and may thus be a candidate for development as an immunomodulating agent.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.616-623
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• 2008

In spite of an increasing interest in fucoidans as biologically active compounds, no convenient commercial sources with fucoidanase activity are yet available. A marine bacterial strain that showed confluent growth on a minimal medium containing fucoidan, prepared from Korean Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls, as the sole carbon source was isolated and identified based on a 16S rDNA sequence analysis as a strain of Sphingomonas paucimobilis, and named Sphingomonas paucimobilis PF-1. The strain depolymerized fucoidan into more than 7 distinct low-molecular-mass fucose-containing oligosaccharides, ranging from 305 to 3,749 Da. The enzyme activity was shown to be associated with the whole cell, suggesting the possibility of a surface display of the enzyme. However, a whole-cell enzyme preparation neither released the monomer L-fucose from the fucoidan nor hydrolyzed the chromogenic substrate p-nitrophenyl-${\alpha}$-L-fucoside, indicating that the enzyme may be an endo-acting fucoidanase rather than an ${\alpha}$-L-fucosidase. Therefore, this would appear to be the first report on fucoidanolytic activity by a Sphingomonas species and also the first report on the enzymatic degradation of the Korean Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll fucoidan. Moreover, this enzyme activity may be very useful for structural analyses of fucose-containing polysaccharides and the production of bioactive fucooligosaccharides.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.584-591
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• 2021

Marine algae (seaweed) encompass numerous groups of multicellular organisms with various shapes, sizes, and colors, and serve as important sources of natural bioactive substances. The brown alga Ecklonia cava Kjellman, an edible seaweed, contains many bioactives such as phlorotannins and fucoidans. Here, we evaluated the antioxidative, neuroprotective, and anti-apoptotic effects of E. cava extract (ECE), E. cava phlorotannin-rich extract (ECPE), and the phlorotannin dieckol on neuronal PC-12 cells. The antioxidant capacities of ECPE and ECE were 1,711.5 and 1,050.4 mg vitamin C equivalents/g in the ABTS assay and 704.0 and 474.6 mg vitamin C equivalents/g in the DPPH assay, respectively. The dieckol content of ECPE (58.99 mg/g) was approximately 60% higher than that of ECE (36.97 mg/g). Treatment of PC-12 cells with ECPE and ECE increased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Intracellular oxidative stress in PC-12 cells due to ECPE and ECE decreased dose-independently by up to 63% and 47%, respectively, compared with the stress control (323%). ECPE reduced the production of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 more effectively than ECE. Early and late apoptosis in PC-12 cells were more effectively decreased by ECPE than ECE treatments. From the results obtained in this study, we concluded that ECPE, which is rich in phlorotannins, including the marker compound dieckol, may be applied to the development of functional materials for improving cognition and memory.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1603-1610
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• 2010

Fucoidans are sulfated fucosylated polymers from the cell wall of brown algae. We assessed the effects of Fucus evanescens fucoidan on ultraviolet-B (UVB)-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) protein, mRNA, and promoter, and the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in vitro using an immortalized human keratinocyte cell line. Pretreatment with 10 and $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ fucoidan significantly inhibited UVB-induced MMP-1 protein, mRNA and promoter activity, compared to UVB irradiation alone. Extracellular signal regulated kinase activation was markedly inhibited by treatment with fucoidan, though c-JUN N-terminal kinase activity and p38 activation were only marginally affected by fucoidan. F. evanescens fucoidan may be a potential therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of skin photoaging.