Inhibition of prostate cancer
Fucoidans have been well studied for their anti-cancer effects. These include their ability to inhibit angiogenesis and metastasis and to disrupt cancer cell cycles. A recent study explored the potential preventive and anti-tumorigenic effects of high purity fucoidan, derived from Fucus vesiculosus. The high purity fucoidan was studied with and without the standard prostate cancer drug docetaxel.
The study utilised a xenograft prostate cancer model in mice. Results showed that apoptotic cell death was more significantly induced in the fucoidan-only and fucoidan-docetaxel treated groups. The fucoidan treatment was shown to inhibit tumour growth and reduce tumour size. The fucoidan treatment also significantly increased LC3A/B expression and decreased oxidative stress-related MDA, GPX, and GSH levels. Based on the results, researchers concluded that fucoidan is a promising anti-cancer agent against prostate cancer.
The high purity Fucus vesiculosus fucoidan utilised in the study was produced by Marinova.
The full paper, ‘Fucoidan Inhibits Prostate Cancer Growth Through Modulation of Different Cell Deaths’, was published in the Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice.