Thread by @catriona1

Been tumbling down the rabbit hole of fucoidan — a sulphated polysaccharide fiber derived from brown seaweeds. Loads of studies but mostly using cell lines and animals. However, results are astonishing. Seems to be the cure for everything short of death.

Fucoidan upregulates PGC-1 alpha and sirtuins. This means it boosts mitochondrial health, boosts antioxidant production like glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. And PGC-1 alpha stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis. So you make more mitochondria

This can help to protect against toxicity from multiple sources. mdpi.com/1660-3397/17/9…

Fucoidan can also help repair the glycocalyx. The glycocalyx is formed by sulphated polysaccharides (long fibers with lots of sulphate groups attached) and it lines your arteries. The glycocalyx is a bit like Teflon in that it makes your artery walls smooth.

A smooth artery wall resists things sticking to it. Like dirty great big clots. In fact, damage to the glycocalyx is a big trigger for a heart attack or ischaemic stroke. So although this study is on COVID clots, we should be excited about heart attacks openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/2/00…

Fucoidan also shows promise for conditions involving neurodegeneration and neuronal damage. Or serious brain conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, stroke, ALS, and even prion diseases like CJD. mdpi.com/1660-3397/18/5…

And it has some ability to chelate metals. Which is of course very promising for people with heavy metal toxicity like #gadolinium from #MRIcontrasts

#fucoidan may also help with all aspects of the metabolic syndrome from #obesity to #prediabetes to #diabetes to #Hypertension #highbloodpressure to #NAFLD fatty liver. Partly through its effects on mitochondrial health but it also reduces inflammation mdpi.com/1660-3397/18/5…

Not only is fucoidan good for liver disease caused by insulin resistance, it’s also able to improve other conditions with liver damage from other sources and #liverfibrosis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

And fucoidan has antimicrobial effects including antifungal, antibiotic and antiviral effects. researchgate.net/publication/32…

Fucoidan even appears to have #analgesic or #painkilling effects beyond its anti-inflammatory effects. It even seems to protect against #neuropathic pain and cold sensitivity by up regulating GABA receptors spandidos-publications.com/mmr/15/2/975

fucoidan retards tumor development, eradicates tumor cells and synergizes with anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents. So it’s #anticancer too ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Then there are all the studies using topical fucoidan to accelerate #woundhealing like this one. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… the wound healing effects shouldn’t come as a surprise given how popular alginate dressings are.

Unfortunately, you’re probably going to struggle to get the roses of fucoidan used in the studies by eating brown seaweeds like #wakame, #kombu kelp, or bladderwrack. I’ve heard that it takes 1 kg of seaweed to produce 1 g of a specific Japanese fucoidan extract

And there are different fucoidans available on the market. Degree of sulphation and molecular weight seem to affect the efficacy for different conditions. Higher sulphation levels appear to be better.

But molecular weight is more complicated. Low molecular weight fucoidans (LMWF) can enter cells and mitochondria more easily. But high molecular weight fucoidans (HMWF) seem to work better at a tissue level. So depends on the indications you’re taking it.

Fucoidans are also absorbed from the gut (as I suspect are all fibers to a degree). But their bioavailability may not be good. So for something like sepsis or cancer, the iv route will probably be preferred to oral. For wounds, topical or topical + oral +/- iv might be best

Research in fucoidans has been going on for at least 35 years. That’s practically 2 generations. So why are there so few human studies? Fucoidan is natural and not patentable. It could also reduce symptoms & risk of developing chronic illness. Follow the money.

@threadreaderapp unroll