Research indicates fucoidan promotes antiviral activity
Over the past two decades, extensive research has explored the ability of high purity fucoidan extracts to inhibit viral activity.
Recent in vitro research further builds on this existing evidence, investigating some of the possible mechanisms behind the antiviral activity. A Korean study examined changes in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells using RNA sequencing. The study found that cells treated with fucoidan activated the key genes involved in virus-specific response pathways, including those of coronaviruses and influenza. The fucoidan-treated cells also increased type 1 interferon response which plays an essential role in combating virus infection.
The researchers concluded that the findings may serve as a strong foundation for further research into fucoidan-based strategies for the prevention and treatment of a range of viruses.
The study included high purity Fucus vesiculosus fucoidan produced by Marinova Pty Ltd in Australia.
The full paper, ‘Gene Set Enrichment Analysis Reveals That Fucoidan Induces Type I IFN Pathways in BMDC’ was published in the journal Nutrients.