Undaria pinnatifida and Cancer: A Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26537/prpaeh.v3i2.6148Keywords:
Undaria pinnatifida, wakame, cancer, cytotoxicAbstract
Background: Cancer is a prevalent chronic disease and a leading cause of death worldwide, with treatment options having limited effectiveness and severe side effects (1,2).Searching for new therapeutic options has been conducted over the years, including research with natural compounds (1). Undaria pinnatifida (known as wakame), presents high nutritional quality and bioactivity due to its composition mainly of polysaccharides (fucoidan), carotenoids (fucoxanthin) and proteins (1–4). Some research has been performed on the potential biological activities of the U. pinnatifida constituents, including its anti-cancer properties (5,6). Objective: The main objective of this study is to discuss the in vitro studies regarding cytotoxic activity of wakame and its compounds against different cancer cell lines. Methods: A narrative review was conducted using the PubMed® database and a combination of keywords with Boolean search terms, to find articles published between 2015 and 2025, related to in vitro cytotoxic activity of U. pinnatifida and its compounds. Results: Twenty articles were selected. Wakame and its compounds (polysaccharides or fucoidan and fucoxanthin) have demonstrated in vitro cytotoxic effects on several cancer cell lines, including prostate (PC-3), cervical (HeLa 229 and SiHa), ovarian (A2780 and SKOV3), pancreatic (PANC-1), breast (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231), lung (A549) and melanoma (7–16). Nanoformulations have shown considerable potential, since enhanced delivery of fucoidan and quinacrine resulting in a reduction in IC50 values (11). Fucoidan administered concomitantly with other drugs demonstrated synergistic (aspirin, paclitaxel, lapatinib or tamoxifen) and additive (topotecan) effects(7,14,17). Additionally, anti-cancer effect may be explained though the induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation (7,10–13,16). Conclusions: U. pinnatifida and its compounds showed anticancer properties and potential enhanced efficacy of other compounds when administered concomitantly. Future research should focus on pharmacokinetics, toxicity assessment, mechanism of action and in vivo efficacy to establish its potential as a therapeutic agent.
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