Oral fucoidan improves muscle size and strength in mice.

Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found in a range of brown algae species. Growing evidence supports the long-term supplementation of fucoidan as an ergogenic aid to improve skeletal muscle performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fucoidan on the skeletal muscle of mice.

Characterization of the putative polysaccharide synthase CpsA and its effects on the virulence of the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.

The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous opportunistic human pathogen capable of causing a life-threatening disease called invasive aspergillosis, or IA, with an associated 40-90% mortality rate in immunocompromised patients. Of the approximately 250 species known in the genus Aspergillus, A. fumigatus is responsible for up to 90% of IA infections.

Low-level seaweed supplementation improves iodine status in iodine-insufficient women.

Iodine insufficiency is now a prominent issue in the UK and other European countries due to low intakes of dairy products and seafood (especially where iodine fortification is not in place). In the present study, we tested a commercially available encapsulated edible seaweed (Napiers Hebridean Seagreens® Ascophyllum nodosum species) for its acceptability to consumers and iodine bioavailability and investigated the impact of a 2-week daily seaweed supplementation on iodine concentrations and thyroid function. Healthy non-pregnant women of childbearing age, self-reporting low dairy product and seafood consumption, with no history of thyroid or gastrointestinal disease were recruited.