Fucoidan is a polysaccharide largely made up of l-fucose and sulfate groups. Fucoidan is favorable worldwide, especially amongst the food and pharmaceutical industry as a consequence of its promising therapeutic effects. Its applaudable biological functions are ascribed to its unique biological structure. Classical bioactivities associated with fucoidan include anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-coagulant, anti-thrombotic, immunoregulatory, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects. 

Fucoidan is a water-soluble polysaccharide; it gives highly viscous solutions. The most important application of fucoidan is in food – fucoidan containing food and supplements are very popular on the Japanese market.

Raw fucoidan materials are also used for cosmetics because the product is directly adsorbed by the human skin with the following effects: whitening, preserving moisture, removing freckles.

Fucoidan has also important medical applications. The higher the sulfation, the higher its therapeutic potential. The role of fucoidan is as modulator of coagulation, as an alternative to the anticoagulant heparin, and many other biological activities such as anti-inflammation, anticell proliferation, and antiadhesion and antiviral infection, as fertilizer, anticoagulant, antitumor, antiviral agents. In addition, they act as ligands for selectins, protect gastric mucosa against proteolytic activity of gastric juice, block mammalian fertilization, etc.

Fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus has been to:
study the application of heparin red in detecting fucoidan
study its bioactivity as an antimicrobial agent
study its effects on advanced glycation end-products