FucoSan: Extraction of fucoidans from different brown algae species using different methods and their chemical and biological characterization

This is a dataset extracted from the database of the Interreg project “FucoSan – Health from the sea” which includes information on the used algae species, the extraction of fucoidans as well as their chemical and pharmacological characterization.

Macroalgae represent a vast source of renewable raw materials for research, development and application. An example of current high interest are fucoidans from brown algae. These fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides exhibit a multitude of bioactivities offering attractive options for applications in medicine and cosmetics. The composition and chemical structure of fucoidans and thus their bioactivities may, however, largely vary depending on the algae species, extraction procedure and many other factors. Therefore, much research is still needed in the range from the algal source up to the targeted development of fucoidans optimized for respective applications. Since 2017, this is the topic of the Danish-German project Interreg project “FucoSan – health from the Sea” involving 11 partners with different expertise. Here, the current state of the fucoidan series produced and explored within the project is presented including information on the used algae species and batches, the extraction, purification and fractionation of the fucoidans as well as their chemical and pharmacological characterization. Based on their basic pharmacological activities, fucoidans are then selected and further tested in advanced experiments for specific applications in medicine and cosmetics.