Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Japanese Patients with Liver Disease.

Background and Aims : The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) may increase the patient's will to fight the disease and has some advantageous effects. However, it may also have the disadvantages of financial burden and side effects. The purpose of this study was to clarify the use of CAM in Japanese patients with liver disease. Methods : An anonymous questionnaire was administered to 500 outpatients in the Liver Disease Department in Gunma prefecture in east Japan, from August to June 1999. Results : Among 405 patients, 267 (65.9%) had experienced CAM, with 153 patients (37.8%) using it at that time. Among 267 patients who had experienced CAM, only 16.5% patients had consulted a doctor or nurse about it. The subjective evaluation as “effective” of CAM was only 10-30% in each therapy. Seven of 267 patients (2.6%) reported that their physical condition deteriorated due to CAM. The maximum difficulty in using CAM was “expense”. Conclusion : Only a few patients consults a doctor or nurse about CAM. As for most CAM, the patients' subjective evaluations were low, and some side effects were reported. These suggests that patients with liver disease should learn the right and safe way to use CAM

Are Helicobacter pylori Infection and Fucoidan Consumption Associated with Fucoidan Absorption?

We examined the associations of Helicobacter pylori and mozuku consumption with fucoidan absorption. Overall, 259 Japanese volunteers consumed 3 g fucoidan, and their urine samples were collected to measure fucoidan values and H. pylori titers before and 3, 6, and 9 h after fucoidan ingestion. Compared to the basal levels (3.7 ± 3.4 ng/mL), the urinary fucoidan values significantly increased 3, 6, and 9 h (15.3 ± 18.8, 24.4 ± 35.1, and 24.2 ± 35.2 ng/mL, respectively) after fucoidan ingestion. The basal fucoidan levels were significantly lower in H. pylori-negative subjects who rarely ate mozuku than in those who regularly consumed it. Regarding the ΔMax fucoidan value (highest value − basal value) in H. pylori-positive subjects who ate mozuku at least once a month, those aged ≥40 years exhibited significantly lower values than <40 years old. Among subjects ≥40 years old who regularly consumed mozuku, the ΔMax fucoidan value was significantly lower in H. pylori-positive subjects than in H. pylori-negative ones. In H. pylori-positive subjects who ate mozuku at least once monthly, basal fucoidan values displayed positive correlations with H. pylori titers and ΔMax fucoidan values in subjects <40 years old. No correlations were found in H. pylori-positive subjects who ate mozuku once every 2–3 months or less. Thus, fucoidan absorption is associated with H. pylori infection and frequency of mozuku consumption

Absorption Study of Mozuku Fucoidan in Japanese Volunteers

We performed an oral administration study of fucoidan in 396 Japanese volunteers and investigated significant factors concerning the absorption of fucoidan. Urine samples were collected at 0, 3, 6, and 9 h after ingestion of 3 g of fucoidan. Fucoidan was detected in urine after ingestion in 385 out of 396 subjects. The maximum value (mean ± standard deviation (SD)) of urinary fucoidan was 332.3 ± 357.6 μg/gCr in subjects living in Okinawa prefecture, compared with 240.1 ± 302.4 μg/gCr in subjects living outside Okinawa. Compared with the estimated urinary excretion of fucoidan by place of residence, those of subjects living in Okinawa prefecture were significantly higher than those living outside Okinawa prefecture (p < 0.01). In addition, subjects living in Okinawa prefecture consumed significantly greater amounts of mozuku compared with those living outside Okinawa prefecture (p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that having Okinawa prefecture as a place of residence was a significant factor (p < 0.01) contributing to the estimated urinary excretion of fucoidan. Because the habit of eating mozuku was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in subjects living in Okinawa prefecture than in those living outside Okinawa prefecture, the habit of eating mozuku was speculated to be a factor in the absorption of fucoidan

Intestinal Absorption of Fucoidan Extracted from the Brown Seaweed, Cladosiphon okamuranus

The aim of this study was to examine the absorption of fucoidan through the intestinal tract. Fucoidan (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg/mL) was added to Transwell inserts containing Caco-2 cells. The transport of fucoidan across Caco-2 cells increased in a dose-dependent manner up to 1.0 mg/mL. It reached a maximum after 1 h and then rapidly decreased. In another experiment, rats were fed standard chow containing 2% fucoidan for one or two weeks. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that fucoidan accumulated in jejunal epithelial cells, mononuclear cells in the jejunal lamina propria and sinusoidal non-parenchymal cells in the liver. Since we previously speculated that nitrosamine may enhance the intestinal absorption of fucoidan, its absorption was estimated in rats administered N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN) in their drinking water. Rats were fed 0.2% fucoidan chow (BBN + 0.2% fucoidan rats), 2% fucoidan chow (BBN + 2% fucoidan rats) and standard chow for eight weeks. The uptake of fucoidan through the intestinal tract seemed to be low, but was measurable by our ELISA method. Fucoidan-positive cells were abundant in the small intestinal mucosa of BBN + 2% fucoidan rats. Most fucoidan-positive cells also stained positive for ED1, suggesting that fucoidan was incorporated into intestinal macrophages. The uptake of fucoidan by Kupffer cells was observed in the livers of BBN + 2% fucoidan rats. In conclusion, the absorption of fucoidan through the small intestine was demonstrated both in vivo and in vitro