Sulfated polysaccharides from brown seaweeds Saccharina japonica and Undaria pinnatifida: isolation, structural characteristics, and antitumor activity Original Research Article

During the last decade brown seaweeds attracted much attention as a source of polysaccharides, namely laminarans, alginic acids, and sulfated polysaccharides—fucoidans, with various structures and biological activities. In this study, sulfated polysaccharides were isolated from brown seaweeds Saccharina japonica (formerly named Laminaria) and Undaria pinnatifida and their antitumor activity was tested against human breast cancer T-47D and melanoma SK-MEL-28 cell lines.Fucoidans from S. japonica and U. pinnatifida distinctly inhibited proliferation and colony formation in both breast cancer and melanoma cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that the use of sulfated polysaccharides from brown seaweeds S. japonica and U. pinnatifida might be a potential approach for cancer treatment.