Fucoidan Extracted from the New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida—Physicochemical Comparison against Five Other Fucoidans: Unique Low Molecular Weight Fraction Bioactivity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines

School of Interprofessional Health Studies, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

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Institute of Biomedical Technology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

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State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China

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Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt

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AUT-Roche Diagnostics Laboratory, School of Science, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

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Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China

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Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/MOH, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 130 Dong An Road, Shanghai 200032, China

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Mar. Drugs 2018, 16(12), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/md16120461

Received: 5 November 2018 / Revised: 20 November 2018 / Accepted: 21 November 2018 / Published: 22 November 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pre-Clinical Marine Drug Discovery)

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Abstract

Fucoidan, the complex fucose-containing sulphated polysaccharide varies considerably in structure, composition, and bioactivity, depending on the source, species, seasonality, and extraction method. In this study, we examined five fucoidans extracted from the same seaweed species Undaria pinnatifida but from different geological locations, and compared them to the laboratory-grade fucoidan from Sigma (S). The five products differed in molecular composition. The amount of over 2 kDa low molecular weight fraction (LMWF) of the New Zealand crude fucoidan (S1) was larger than that of S, and this fraction was unique, compared to the other four fucoidans. The difference of molecular compositions between S and S1 explained our previous observation that S1 exhibited different anticancer profile in some cancer cell lines, compared with S. Since we observed this unique LMWF, we compared the cytotoxic effects of a LMWF and a high molecular weight fucoidan (HMWF) in two breast cancer cell lines—MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. Results indicated that the molecular weight is a critical factor in determining the anti-cancer potential of fucoidan, from the New Zealand U. pinnatifida, as the LMWF exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition on the proliferation of breast cancer cells, significantly better than the HMWF, in both cell lines. A time-dependent inhibition was only observed in the MCF-7. Induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis was observed in the MDA-MB-231 cells, through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway alone, or with the extrinsic pathway. LMWF stimulated a dose-dependent NOS activation in the MDA-MB-231 cells. In conclusion, the fucoidan extracted from the New Zealand U. pinnatifida contains a unique LMWF, which could effectively inhibit the growth of breast cancer cell lines. Therefore, the LMWF from New Zealand U. pinnatifida could be used as a supplement cancer treatment. View Full-Text

Keywords: fucoidan; chemical composition; molecular weight; breast cancer cell lines; nutraceutical

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lu, J.; Shi, K.K.; Chen, S.; Wang, J.; Hassouna, A.; White, L.N.; Merien, F.; Xie, M.; Kong, Q.; Li, J.; Ying, T.; White, W.L.; Nie, S. Fucoidan Extracted from the New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida—Physicochemical Comparison against Five Other Fucoidans: Unique Low Molecular Weight Fraction Bioactivity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines. Mar. Drugs 2018, 16, 461. https://doi.org/10.3390/md16120461

AMA Style

Lu J, Shi KK, Chen S, Wang J, Hassouna A, White LN, Merien F, Xie M, Kong Q, Li J, Ying T, White WL, Nie S. Fucoidan Extracted from the New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida—Physicochemical Comparison against Five Other Fucoidans: Unique Low Molecular Weight Fraction Bioactivity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines. Marine Drugs. 2018; 16(12):461. https://doi.org/10.3390/md16120461

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lu, Jun, Keyu K. Shi, Shuping Chen, Junqiao Wang, Amira Hassouna, Loretta N. White, Fabrice Merien, Mingyong Xie, Qingjun Kong, Jinyao Li, Tianlei Ying, William L. White, and Shaoping Nie. 2018. "Fucoidan Extracted from the New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida—Physicochemical Comparison against Five Other Fucoidans: Unique Low Molecular Weight Fraction Bioactivity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines" Marine Drugs 16, no. 12: 461. https://doi.org/10.3390/md16120461

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Fucoidan Extracted from the New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida—Physicochemical Comparison against Five Other Fucoidans: Unique Low Molecular Weight Fraction Bioactivity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines

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