Fucoidan: Structure and Bioactivity

Fucoidan refers to a type of polysaccharide which contains substantial percentages of L-fucose and sulfate ester groups, mainly derived from brown seaweed. For the past decade fucoidan has been extensively studied due to its numerous interesting biological activities. Recently the search for new dru...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ruixiang Zhao, Xinjun Wei, Fei Lu, Bo Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2008-08-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/13/8/1671/
Description
Summary:Fucoidan refers to a type of polysaccharide which contains substantial percentages of L-fucose and sulfate ester groups, mainly derived from brown seaweed. For the past decade fucoidan has been extensively studied due to its numerous interesting biological activities. Recently the search for new drugs has raised interest in fucoidans. In the past few years, several fucoidans’ structures have been solved, and many aspects of their biological activity have been elucidated. This review summarizes the research progress on the structure and bioactivity of fucoidan and the relationships between structure and bioactivity.
ISSN:1420-3049