Gut & digestive health
A rapidly expanding body of published research demonstrates the potential of fucoidans to support gut and digestive health (Yang, 2021). Studies investigating the beneficial effects of fucoidans in the gastrointestinal tract include the balancing of gut microbiota (Liu, 2018) through to significant reductions in gut inflammation (Lean, 2015).
Research has shown that fucoidans can:
- Maintain the balance of good and bad bacteria (Liu, 2018; Huang, 2021; Yang 2024).
- Increase the production of short-chain fatty acids (Zheng, 2023; Liu, 2022).
- Reduce gut inflammation and colitis (Lean, 2015; Liu, 2022).
- Inhibit the adhesion of Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori and (Chua, 2015).
- Slow the growth of colon cancer (Kim, 2010; Corban, 2019).
Fucoidans produced by Marinova
Research has demonstrated that fucoidans can assist in balancing the composition of gut flora. High purity fucoidan extracted from Undaria pinnatifida by Marinova has been shown to modulate gut microbiome in mice (Yang, 2024). Fucoidan supplementation increased the abundance of beneficial gut bacteria, including Bacteriodes/Prevotella, Akkermansia muciniphila and Lactobacillus. It also notably reduced the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, indicating improved gut microbiome health. High purity fucoidans produced by Marinova have been shown to inhibit the adhesion of the bacterium H. pylori to gastric epithelial cells (Chua, 2015). H. pylori is widely recognised as a common cause of gastric ulcers.
In mouse models, Marinova’s fucoidans have significantly reduced the clinical symptoms, pathology and cytokine elevations of acute colitis (Lean, 2015), and inhibited inflammation and inflammatory cell death in alcohol induced gastric ulcers (Selim, 2023). In a clinical study involving professional athletes, high purity fucoidan extracted from Fucus vesiculosus and Undaria pinnatifida promoted the secretion of anti-microbial peptides and contributed to the regulation of mucosal inflammation (Cox, 2020).
Marinova’s high purity fucoidan shows promise as a preventative for several gastrointestinal disorders, including cancers closely associated with chronic gastrointestinal inflammation. Fucoidan extracted from Undaria pinnatifida has been shown to induce DNA damage in human colon cancer cells, whilst causing no damage to healthy cells (Corban, 2019).