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Mozuku - Toxicological evaluation of fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus
Identifier
016983
Type of Spiritual Experience
None
Background
Cladosiphon okamuranus (モズク; 水雲; 藻付; 海蘊; 海雲 mozuku) is a type of edible seaweed in the genus Cladosiphon, naturally found in Okinawa, Japan. Most mozuku is now farmed by locals, and sold to processing factories. The main use of mozuku is as food, and as a source of one type of sulfated polysaccharide called Fucoidan, which is used as a health supplement.
A description of the experience
J Med Food. 2008 Dec;11(4):638-42. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2007.0127.
Toxicological evaluation of fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus.
Gideon TP1, Rengasamy R.
Fucoidans are sulfated polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweeds. They have a wide spectrum of activity in biological systems.
Besides their well-known anticoagulant and anti-thrombotic activity, fucoidans modulate inflammation, possess antiproliferative and anti-adhesive effects on cells, protect cells from viral infection, and interfere with mammalian fertilization.
Fucoidans are now used as raw material for development of drugs and are also widely used as a health-promoting food component. However, studies on the toxicity of fucoidans from different brown algae are limited.
The present study examined the acute toxicity of varying levels of fucoidan extracted from Okinawa mozuku, a brown alga (Cladosiphon okamuranus), in Wistar rats after oral administration.
No significant toxicological changes were induced by fucoidan at a dose of 600 mg/kg of body weight/day. However, with concentrations at and above 1,200 mg/kg of body weight/day, clotting time was significantly prolonged. No other signs of toxicity were observed.
PMID: 19053854