X-Message-Number: 28479
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 10:57:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: wakame as a life extension food

[ In addition to green tea, wakame seaweed consumption may be one
possible additional reason for why Asian females in Bergen County, USA
enjoy the highest life expectancy (91 years) in the world.
  Wakame (but not nori) seaweed contains large amounts of
fucoxanthin. This phytochemical greatly reduces stroke injury in an
animal model, inhibits cancer, and even lowers body fat.]

Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2003 Jan-Feb;30(1-2):44-8.
Effect of Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame) on the development of
cerebrovascular diseases in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.
  1. We showed that a nutritional factor was able to attenuate the
development of hypertension and its related diseases in stroke-prone
spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). In the present study, the effect
of Wakame, an edible brown seaweed, on the development of stroke was
examined in SHRSP. 2. We studied the treatment with 5% (w/w in a
diet) Wakame powder in salt-loaded (0.5% NaCl in drinking
water) SHRSP. Salt-loaded animals treated with 5% cellulose or kaolin
were used as controls. Wakame significantly delayed the development of
stroke signs (P < 0.05) and significantly improved the survival rate of
salt-loaded SHRSP (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the
elevation of blood pressure among the three groups during the observation
period. 3. We isolated fucoxanthin, a carotinoid, from Wakame powder and
studied its preventive effect on ischaemic cultured neuronal
cell death. Fucoxanthin significantly attenuated neuronal cell injury in
hypoxia and re-oxygenation (P < 0.05). 4. Based on these results, we
conclude that Wakame has a beneficial effect on cerebrovascular diseases
in SHRSP, independent of hypertension. It is possible that fucoxanthin in
Wakame may have a preventive effect against ischaemic neuronal cell death
seen in SHRSP with stroke.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Jul 1;332(2):392-7.
Fucoxanthin from edible seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida, shows antiobesity
effect through UCP1 expression in white adipose tissues.
  Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is usually expressed only in
brown adipose tissue (BAT) and a key molecule for metabolic thermogenesis
to avoid an excess of fat accumulation. However, there is little BAT in
adult humans. Therefore, UCP1 expression in tissues other than BAT is
expected to reduce abdominal fat. Here, we show reduction of abdominal
white adipose tissue (WAT) weights in rats and mice by feeding lipids
from edible seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida. Clear signals of UCP1 protein
and mRNA were detected in WAT of mice fed the Undaria lipids, although
there is little expression of UCP1 in WAT of mice fed control diet. The
Undaria lipids mainly consisted of glycolipids and seaweed carotenoid,
fucoxanthin. In the fucoxanthin-fed mice, WAT weight significantly
decreased and UCP1 was clearly expressed in the WAT, while there was no
difference in WAT weight and little expression of UCP1 in the
glycolipids-fed mice. This result indicates that fucoxanthin upregulates
the expression of UCP1 in WAT, which may contribute to reducing WAT weight.

Cancer Lett. 1993 Feb;68(2-3):159-68.
Inhibitory effects of fucoxanthin, a natural carotenoid, on
N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced mouse duodenal
carcinogenesis.
  Fucoxanthin was shown to inhibit chemical carcinogenesis. Fucoxanthin
is a natural carotenoid prepared from brown algae which is an ingredient
used daily in Japanese food. In this study, all mice were given 0.01%
N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in their drinking water for 4
weeks. This was followed by 0.005% fucoxanthin in dimethylsulfoxide or the
vehicle alone in the drinking water. In the 16-week fucoxanthin-treated
group both the percentage of tumor-bearing mice and the average number of
tumors per mouse were significantly lower than those of the control
group. The results indicate that fucoxanthin inhibited duodenal
carcinogenesis induced by N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in mice.

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