Potent inhibitory effect of Hizikia fusiformis cold water extract on human macrophages and mouse colon inflammatory responses

Abstract

Obtaining extracts rich in pharmacological components from edible brown seaweeds is essential for their use as functional foods or therapeutic supplements. The present study demonstrated that the cold-water extract of Hizikia fusiformis (HF-C) with a unique composition, unlike hot-water (HF-H) or acid (HF-A) extracts, inhibited NF-κB activation, pro-inflammatory cytokines and glucose transporter expression, and inflammatory glycolysis more than HF-H or HF-A did. Oral administration of HF-C significantly inhibited dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis in mouse, as evidenced by a decrease in disease activity index and inflammatory cytokine expression, and recovered colonic tissue E-cadherin expression and body weight. Notably, the anti-colitis effect of HF-C was greater than sulfasalazine, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) drug. Taken together, the higher anti-inflammatory action of HF-C was due to the different composition of fucoidan compared to the other extracts. Consequently, the results suggest that HF-C may be a therapeutic adjunct to the treatment of IBD.

Keywords

• Cold-water extraction
• Hizikia fusiformis
• Fucoidan
• Arabinose
• GLUT1
• Inflammatory macrophage