Fucoidan, derived from brown seaweed, is rapidly growing in popularity among consumers to support a number of important bodily functions. Animal and cell culture studies have shown fucoidan can enhance the immune system, improve cellular communication, exhibit strong anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity, and inhibit certain cancers and viruses.
The primary active ingredient of Fucoidan is fucose, a sulfated polysaccharide, and one of the eight essential biological sugars that have recently been identified as being absolutely essential for cell-to-cell communication through glycoproteins and glycolipids. Typically only glucose and galactose are contained in the foods we eat. We typically don't consume fucose and so we must produce over thirty-four different enzymatic reactions to generate intermediate molecules to make fucose. During the conversion process if there is a problem in any step (due to toxins, stress etc) our bodies may be robbed of this valuable compound.
Over the past several years, Beijing Gingko Group has realized the potential for this important compound and secured relationships with several leading harvesters of brown seaweed to take advantage of the different species found throughout the oceans of the world. Each species has its own history of traditional use and it appears that varying chemical compositions lend themselves to certain areas of research.
Beijing Gingko Group currently produces four different species of fucoidan from the following brown seaweeds: Cladosiphon okamuranus (Mozuku), Ascophyllum nodosum (Knotted Wrack), Laminaria japonica (Kombu) and Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame). All fucoidan species are sourced exclusively from pre-screened cultivators and harvesters to ensure consistent species selection and protection of the local environment through the appropriate safeguards.
About Beijing Gingko Group
Beijing Gingko Group is a leading Chinese company specializing in the manufacturing of botanical derivatives for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food and food supplement, beverage, and nutrition industries worldwide. It is also the first Chinese company to be certified by GeneScan for its IP Non-GMO products. The FucoMax™ Fucoidan product line, produced by Beijing Gingko Group (BGG), is extracted from Cladosiphon okamuranus, Ascophyllum nodosum, Laminaria japonica and Undaria pinnatifida. BGG has extracted and perfected these delicate compounds using highly selected brown seaweeds which are collected in natural, deep and cold oceanic waters under excellent growth conditions, such as Norway (Ascophyllum nodosum), Japan (Cladosiphon okamuranus) and the East Sea of China (Laminaria japonica and Undaria pinnatifida). There is no contamination around these bodies of water. The seaweeds are harvested by cutting fresh seaweeds that float to the surface, rather than by dredging, to reduce contamination and minimize any potential environmental impacts. With the company's proprietary extraction method, utilizing a low temperature water extraction process, BGG makes highly purified fucoidan with potencies reaching 90%.
In addition to manufacturing FucoMax™ Fucoidan, BGG manufactures over 100 specialty plant extracts that sell throughout the world under the Ginnovay TM brand name. BGG is also the dominant global supplier of European Bilberry Extract (Vaccinium myrtillus) and produces other products such as black soybean extract, policosanol-octacosanol, natural vitamin E (Tocotrienols & Tocopherols), black currant extract, natural vitamin C, juice concentrates and more.
Cladosiphon okamuranus
Fucoidan from Cladosiphon okamuranus has been shown in animal and cell culture studies to inhibit irritable bowel disease1, gastric ulcers2,3, gastric cancer4,5 and induce cancer cell apoptosis6.
Laminaria japonica
Fucoidan from Laminaria japonica has been shown to inhibit tumor growth9, 10 , act as an anticoagulant11 and shown antiviral activity12.
