Recently, some beverages have been mixed with fucoidan in the market. However, most people are not sure yet how the drink with fucoidan has benefits against cancer.
Hence, I would like to share a study, “A novel fucoidan complex-based functional beverage attenuates oral cancer through inducing apoptosis, G2/M cell cycle arrest and retarding cell migration/invasion,” by Pei-Hui Chenet et al. The study investigated the anti-oral cancer effects of functional beverages ( VMW-FC cocktail) developed by integrating fucoidan complex (FC) and natural/organic ingredients such as vegetable juice (V), mulberry (M), and wheatgrass (W).
Non-cytotoxic fucoidan (FC), a natural bioactive ingredient in functional foods, has been indicated by various studies to have antioxidant, anticoagulant, immunomodulatory, anticoagulant activity, blood lipid-lowering, and gastrointestinal protection. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated to exhibit multiple therapeutic activities such as antiviral and phytochemicals such as polyphenols, especially flavonoids, by synthesizing a potent cocktail of organic vegetable juices (V), mulberry (M), and wheatgrass (W), which was designated as VMW-FC. Thus, based on the demonstrated therapeutic results of V, M, W, and FC, they produced VMW-FC blended juice to investigate its anti-oral cancer potential in vitro and in vivo.
Also, based on a study by Hung et al. in 2020, oral cancer, a malignant tumor that affects human health worldwide, ranks fifth among the top 10 causes of cancer-related deaths. Along with surgical approaches, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, oral cancer treatment strategies exist. However, these therapeutic approaches are known to have adverse effects, such as nausea and diarrhea. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new anti-oral cancer therapeutic agents.
First, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines (OECM-1, HSC3, and SAS) were used. After collecting all cells from each experiment, the MTT assay was used to test the cytotoxic behavior of VMW-FC against oral cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Results showed that 2 mg/ml VMW-FC caused approximately 50% or more cell death in all three oral cancer cell lines. Similarly, VMW-FC significantly inhibited all oral cancer cell lines’ proliferative capacity (See Figure. 1B) and colony-forming capacity. These results demonstrate that VMW-FC exerts potent inhibitory effects on cancer cells.
Metastasis indicates that cancer cells can invade surrounding tissues or pass through blood vessels. The study, therefore, evaluated these properties by wound healing and transwell migration assays. Wounds were created by scratching the cells, and when various concentrations of VMW-FC (0–4 mg/ml) were administered, wound healing was observed at 24 and 48 hours. They also showed decreased invasion ability of oral cancer cells treated with VMW-FC.
Apoptosis is programmed cell death, a highly regulated process to eliminate unwanted or unwanted cells. After 72 hours of VMW-FC treatment, histograms based on flow cytometric analysis revealed a higher percentage of VMW-FC-treated OECM-1, HSC-3, and SAS cells in the late apoptotic stage compared to controls. (See Figure 2A-B)
Based on the above results demonstrating VMW-FC’s inhibitory ability against oral cancer cells, they further investigated the in vivo antitumor effect of VMW-FC on oral cancer initiation and progression in NOD-SCID mice. First, the mouse was inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank with the SAS cell line. Then on day seven, oral administration of VMW-FC was started. A reduction in tumor size was observed in the VMW-FC-treated group compared to the oral cancer group (control), further supported by significantly reduced tumor volume and weight. (See Figure 3B)
These results support the finding that higher amounts of fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides and polyphenols in the VMW-FC cocktail may contribute to cell cycle arrest through their potent antioxidant properties. They may therefore be an effective potential mechanism underlying VMW-FC-mediated antiproliferative activity in oral cancer cells.
In conclusion, VMW-FC potently suppresses oral cancer through induction of apoptosis, G2/M cell cycle arrest, and reduction of migration-related EMT markers. The significant point is that researchers believe the potent inhibition of oral cancer is mainly due to the sulfated polysaccharides in the beverage cocktail.
Source: Journal of Functional Foods Volume 85, October 2021, 104665