• The fucoidan content within three dominant species of brown macroalgae from Persian Gulf: presenting a bioactive candidate compound for functional food development
  • Rezvan Mousavi Nadushan,1,* Parisa Sardashti,2


  • Introduction: Fucoidan is a multipart bioactive sulfated fucan dispersed in numerous marine organisms, and the Phaeophyceae (brown seaweeds) are reported as the major producer. It is a water-soluble heteropolysaccharide which the exact constructional features have not yet been clarified. Fucoidan is comprised of fucose, uronic acids, galactose, xylose and sulphated fucose. The worth of brown algal fucoidan is favored to fucose-comprising glycans owing to its diverse branches and molecular weights, which enhances its demands as functional ingredient in food, health products, and pharmaceutics. Fucoidan extracted from brown seaweed have numerous major physiological roles comprising anticoagulant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory immunostimulatory, antioxidant, neuro/cardio protection and growth-promoting function. In addition, fucoidan can postpone the Transfusion Reaction Symptoms, hepatic disorders, osteoarthritis, and kidney disease, reduce the risk of radiation destruction, and can even constrain some snake venom.
  • Methods: Sargassun muticun , Sargassum ilicifolium , Padina sp were collected from coastal waters around Bushehr, Persian Gulf. These algae were cleansed using tap water, preserved by exposure to the sun, and then desiccated in a 60°C oven. Finally, they were powdered and stored in a 4°C ice box until further analysis. Fucoidan were extracted by acid treatments at 70–100 ◦C overnight. The fucoidan subsequently was separated from alginate, by precipitation of alginate with CaCl2. Then the supernatant was gathered and combined with 100% ethanol and stored for precipitation. The precipitate was dissolved in sterile deionized water using a membrane filter and incubated for two days at 4 °C. Later, the solution was freeze-dried.
  • Results: The fucoidan content extracted was 18.5 % (of dry weight), 18.62 %, and 22.44 % from Sargassum muticum, Sargassum ilicifolium and Padina sp, respectively.
  • Conclusion: The current investigation found that purifying algal ingredients with CaCl2 can improve fucoidan yields. The present study also exhibited that Sargassum ilicifolium and Padina sp were the ideal sources for extracting fucoidan. According to the results, the obtained fucoidan proportions were higher than those reported formerly which used multistep extraction in S. horneri and L. japonica, yielding 6.90% and 6.34% fucoidan, respectively. Alternatively, gained proportions were comparable with those reported for Sargassum glaucescens, Sargassum horneri, and Laminaria japonica, yielding 13.13%, 24.00%, and 22.67% from respectively. Since, the biomass of the Sargassum ilicifolium and Padina sp is much larger in the Persian Gulf, we consider Sargassum ilicifolium and specially Padina sp to be rich sources of fucoidan for human consumption.
  • Keywords: Fucoidan, Brown Macroalgae, Extraction, Yield, Persian Gulf.