Health Benefits of Fucoxanthin

Fucoxanthin is a brown seaweed pigment that is found in most brown seaweeds, as well as a few other marine sources. It is a xanthophyll, which is a molecule structurally similar to beta-carotene and vitamin A; yet fucoxanthin does not possess vitamin-like activity in the body.

Uses

Fucoxanthin is a member of the carotenoid family, and is found naturally in some types of seaweed, such as wakame. Like most carotenoids, fucoxanthin is an antioxidant.Animal studies by one group of researchers suggest that fucoxanthin might prevent the growth of fat tissue and reduce abdominal fat.However, no studies have been done to see if this effect is achievable in humans. Anti-cancer properties of fucoxanthin have also been identified in test tube studies, and anti-inflammatory effects have been shown in test tube and animal research. Whether any of these potential health effects could help humans is uncertain, because fucoxanthin present in seaweed was shown to be absorbed quite poorly from the human digestive tract in one study.

Health Benefits of Fucoxanthin

Fucoxanthin, via its metabolites, seems to be stored in fat cells for a prolonged period of time and can induce fat loss while inhibiting fat cell differentiation and proliferation. Although only one human study has been published, it appears to be a promising non-stimulatory fat loss agent but requires time to work (5-16 weeks).

It also possesses other health benefits, such as correcting abnormalities in glucose metabolism in muscle tissue which can help diabetics and might reduce cholesterol levels and triglycerides by currently unverified mechanisms. Reductions in blood pressure and reductions in both liver fat stores and liver enzyme values have been noted with fucoxanthin supplementation in humans.

Fucoxanthin, although usage as a supplement is preliminary, appears to be a very promising joint fat loss and health boosting agent.

Liver Health

Metabolic syndrome is a key risk factor in developing Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver (NAFL) condition, a dangerous build-up of lipid deposits in the liver. NAFL is the most common liver abnormality, affecting 1 out of 4 people. Untreated NAFL may progress to severe liver damage.

Fucoxanthin can reduce the accumulation of lipids in the liver, and in fact, it was shown in an in vitro study that a microalgae-derived fucoxanthin extract, FucoVitalTM by Solabia – Algatech Nutrition, significantly inhibits lipid accumulation in liver cells Moreover, even fucoxanthinol, which is a fucoxanthin metabolite found in the human plasma after oral consumption of fucoxanthin, was also found to be an effective inhibitor of cellular lipid accumulation.