Cancer-fighting potentials of algal polysaccharides as nutraceuticals

Yuezhen Ouyang; Yinghui Qiu; Yuning Liu; Ruiyu Zhu; Yihan Chen; Hesham R El-Seedi; Xinhua Chen; Chao Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110522

Cancer-fighting potentials of algal polysaccharides as nutraceuticals

Food Res Int. 2021 Sep:147:110522. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110522. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

Authors

Yuezhen Ouyang¹, Yinghui Qiu¹, Yuning Liu¹, Ruiyu Zhu², Yihan Chen¹, Hesham R El-Seedi³, Xinhua Chen⁴, Chao Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Engineering Research Centre of Fujian-Taiwan Special Marine Food Processing and Nutrition, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China; College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
² School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China.
³ International Research Center for Food Nutrition and Safety, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China; Pharmacognosy Group, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, BMC, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China.
⁵ Engineering Research Centre of Fujian-Taiwan Special Marine Food Processing and Nutrition, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China; College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Fujian Province, Institute of Oceanology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China. Electronic address: zhchao@live.cn.

PMID: 34399500
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110522

Abstract

Cancer has been listed as one of the world's five incurable diseases by the World Health Organization and causes tens of thousands of deaths every year. Unfortunately, anticancer agents either show limited efficacy or show serious side effects. The algae possess high nutritional value and their polysaccharides have a variety of biological activities, especially anti-cancer and immunomodulatory properties. Algal polysaccharides exert anti-cancer effects by inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, anti-angiogenesis, and regulating intestinal flora and immune function. Algal polysaccharides can be combined with nanoparticles and other drugs to reduce the side effects caused by chemotherapy and increase the anticancer effects. This review shows the signal pathways related to the anti-cancer mechanisms of algal polysaccharides, including their influence on intestinal flora and immune regulation, the application of nanoparticles, and the effects on combination therapy and clinical trials of cancer treatments.

Keywords: Algal polysaccharides; Anti-cancer; Gut microbiota: Immune regulation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Antineoplastic Agents*
Dietary Supplements
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Polysaccharides

Substances

Antineoplastic Agents
Polysaccharides