Does fucoxanthin help with weight loss?
What Is Fucoxanthin?
Fucoxanthin, also known as brown algae and salt algae xanthophytin, is mainly derived from phytoplankton such as brown algae and diatoms and marine shellfish such as oysters. It is a natural carotenoid existing in nature and is the substance that makes brown algae appear brown. Fucoxanthin is a pigment of the xanthophyll class in carotenoids, accounting for about 10% of the total carotenoids.
What Are The Functions Of Fucoxanthin?
Antioxidant
Fucoxanthin has excellent antioxidant biological activity, and its antioxidant capacity is about 13.5 times that of vitamin E. It can reduce oxidation-induced cell damage or death and reduce the incidence of various chronic diseases. In addition to the polyene skeleton of general carotenoids, fucoxanthin has unique monoepoxy, allene and other special groups, all of which have strong antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant activity of fucoxanthin is related to the number of oxygen atoms in the molecule. There are 6 oxygen atoms in the fucoxanthin molecule, especially in an oxygen-deficient environment, it is more sensitive to free radicals.
Anti-obesity
Fucoxanthin can eliminate fat accumulation in two ways. Fucoxanthin can activate a protein called UCP1, which can promote fat decomposition. At the same time, it can also stimulate the liver to produce DHA to lower cholesterol levels. Fucoxanthin can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, thereby preventing excessive fat accumulation; in addition, fucoxanthin and its metabolites can inhibit the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, thereby playing an anti-obesity role. Adding fucoxanthin supplements to people's daily food can significantly reduce blood pressure, liver fat storage and liver enzyme values, but the specific mechanism of action is not very clear. There is also some evidence that fucoxanthin may affect the body's leptin levels (a hormone that is essential for hunger control).
Anti-inflammatory
Fucoxanthin has an inhibitory effect on the exudation of inflammatory mediators induced by endotoxin, and is dose-dependent. Its anti-inflammatory effect is equivalent to that of prednisolone, indicating that fucoxanthin has a certain inhibitory effect on inflammatory infiltration, NO, PGE2 and tumor necrosis factor induced by endotoxin in mice. Its anti-inflammatory effect is mainly through inhibiting the exudation of NO caused by lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage inflammation. RT-PCR analysis showed that the mRNA of NO synthase and cyclooxygenase was inhibited by fucoxanthin. In addition, the expression of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin IL-1β and IL-6, and mRNA cell survival factor was inhibited by fucoxanthin in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that fucoxanthin may play an important role in a variety of inflammatory responses.
Anti-light damage
Long-term exposure to strong light such as ultraviolet light will cause varying degrees of damage to human skin tissue. Studies have found that fucoxanthin, as a natural carotenoid, can effectively prevent radiation damage to skin tissue caused by ultraviolet light oxidation, and has shown an effective effect in relieving itching in a dermatitis model . In addition, fucoxanthin also has a certain eye protection function, especially for internal eye diseases caused by photooxidation. The human retina contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and high concentrations of oxygen. When high-energy blue light acts on the retina, the singlet oxygen and free radicals produced will cause peroxidative damage to the retina. Therefore, dietary intake of carotenoids will help the retina quench damaging reactive oxygen species and resist oxidative damage.
What Is The Application Of Fucoxanthin?
In recent years, fucoxanthin has been widely used in the food industry, most of which are concentrated on its use as a food colorant and active ingredient additive to improve the color of food and give it certain functional properties.
Improve food color
Fucoxanthin itself is a natural pigment that can make food appear orange. It is a commonly used food colorant for humans and has a wide range of applications in the food field. In recent years, fucoxanthin is often used in the processing of baked foods such as butter, pies, and green tea pastries to improve the color of food.
Prevent food from oxidative deterioration
It is well known that free radical-dominated fatty acid and lipid oxidation is the main cause of food deterioration; the oxidation of oils and fats by active oxygen such as superoxide anions and hydroxyl radicals shortens the shelf life of food, which has attracted widespread attention in the food industry. Fucoxanthin can be added to food as a natural antioxidant to reduce the probability of lipid peroxidation during food processing and storage.
Develop weight loss products
The most prominent physiological activity of fucoxanthin is anti-obesity activity, so most of the products under development are weight loss products. In 2006, an American company called AHD International obtained an extract from brown algae with weight loss effects and launched it to the market. The main substance of this effective weight loss product is fucoxanthin. British company Healtharena developed the FucoXanThin series of weight loss products, which were well received by consumers after publicity. The company claimed that the product can achieve weight loss effects by burning excess fat in the body through natural substances.